#also being forced to take care of so many younger siblings for a while drained her in many ways

[feralwetcat]

Im thinking about a band au plotline where Ari discovers a love for music after the passing of her mother, singing to herself as they sort the records, humming along to songs, or playing a piano late at night for a restaurant gig to keep food on the table for their siblings, joining a band and it being so toxic that she looses her sense of empathy, unable to really react, but being healed by friends helping her cope in healthy ways finally being able to make the music she wants as an independent artist

[lakesbian]

awkwardly tapping microphone. uh. little boy. teeny little boy. they put his picture in the dictionary next to "waif." perpetually mismatched or missized clothing. hair long enough to strangle someone with and that shit does not get washed enough let alone brushed. don't even get me started on the state of his dental hygiene. covered in at least one layer of sweat and/or grime at all times. his hobbies include hiding in nooks and drawing, sniffling piteously because a sibling 3 years younger than him socked him and stole the snack he wanted, and staring blankly into space while looking haunted.

you know how in alec's interlude he's deeply deeply upset about his Shit Life while being utterly unaware he's upset? and out of all the bad memories this dude whose power is Forcing people to help him could happen to remember, the first one that comes to mind for him is crying as a kid when he wanted something & then being abused so badly for it he literally didn't speak for the next six months? jean-paul is presently in the middle of the process of learning that no one gives a shit about him, ever, no matter how upset or lonely he is. and also learning that in fact furthermore people will actively hurt him for Being A Person With Feelings. said learning process involves repression of literally every genuine emotion or desire he has to avoid feeling pain or being hurt again 👍 which will eventually result in the boy known as alec. but jean-paul isn't quite there yet. so sometimes he still sniffles piteously into his pillow or involuntarily leaks tears everywhere when someone yells at him. he's getting good at not crying though he'll have you know he's Growing Up and next time Will successfully sock that younger sibling right back to retain his snack.

also, volatile. exceedingly volatile. alec is only The Most Normal Vasil because repressing his emotions means repressing All of his emotions, including the ones that involve being "randomly" really uncomfortable with existing in his own skin and angry at the entire world and clonging someone over the head with a lamp over a ridiculously small slight about it. jean-paul is not that repressed yet though. so he's still doing the lamp thing. and also while he's running away he productively expresses his anguish and rage over the realization that there's no place in society for him outside of The Family (awful!) or being a Cop Jr(also awful!) by kidnapping a random woman who asked too many questions about his lack of accompanying parent while he was attempting to purchase something or other, kicking her and calling her a bitch a bunch of times, and then forcing her to drive him to the canada-u.s border while draining her entire bank account for Little Treats And Snacks. mandatory starbucks stops every 3 hours so he can obtain a vanilla frappuccino refill.

quite possibly the saddest thing about jean-paul, who is little and small, is that unlike alec he has not yet convinced himself that he actually doesn't need any care or affection from anyone ever. but also despite having convinced himself of that alec is out there going "ah yes i agree hugs are good. for example [searching his entire brain for any time someone has touched him for reasons that were not punching him] that time i had a bunch of sex with adults when i was like 11 was nice. because it made my shit miserable existence less miserable." jean-paul would love to attend candy's trigger event in her place really. wants anything that can pass as affection :( it's normal 2 him and he just wants to be held for a little bit after his 3881th shit day in a row. anyway has anyone else noticed how his power is more or less the ability to briefly crawl out of and discard his own body while being as close to someone else's body as humanly possible. by god take that boy out to get some ice cream he deserves a treat. btw has anyone else noticed that alec can't use his power w/o literally reaching a hand out to someone. (intended by wildbow? no. possible for me to put on my corkboard of alec facts connected by red string anyway? absolutely. death of the author babey my city now)

another thing about jean-paul is that he's also snarky and annoying like alec but like. In a lame 8yo way. His clapbacks suck. alec isn't as clever as he thinks he is but he is capable of identifying what will genuinely nettle someone and then saying it in a sufficiently smarmy manner. jean-paul however is like. Um. Your Mom. and then if that doesn't work he hurts you with his mind.

also re learning to repress all of his emotions & avoid vulnerability. i like how well that works w/ heartbreaker's powers not rlly working on him after he triggered. like if his trigger is the ultimate metaphorical culmination of him realizing that No One Will Ever Care, fully hitting the end of his rope and shoving everything down because he doesn't know how else to cope w/ the repeated anguish, then it makes sense that it brings an immunity to the superpower that's just. a metaphor for the way his father manipulates ppl and invades their minds. moment where he mentally checked the fuck out and has not been seen again since.

also speaking of the drawing hobby. alec would never fess up to this in a million years but he was sooo out there having special little superpowered ocs that went on interesting escapist adventures. but they all still died badly because if they'd gotten a happy ending he would have been mad and jealous and like Well that's not how life works. and don't get me started on jean-paul's gender. briefly experiences accidental gender nihilism one time because his brain calculates "the nebulous concept of jean-paul is still a boy even in a girl body or with girl clothes on, just because jean-paul Feels like a boy? whatever that means?" + "jean-paul's original body is presently being regarded more as a genderless personless object being dragged through the motions while jean-paul himself is off somewhere else" + "despite whatever the difference between genders is supposed to be we're all just miserable flowing flesh right now" and then comes out with "ohh....gender is made up and indicates nothing about a person? ok." which he does not consciously parse or even remember having thought at any point but it's why he's 50% more decent about trans people and women than he would otherwise be. which isn't necessarily very decent still but, like, he's better than brian or taylor at Understanding Gender. if you got him to set aside the edgelord jokes for a second he would coherently articulate to you a reasonable stance on his gender non-conformity.

anyway. bedtime for me now lets all listen to the jean-paul playlist together

would love to jean-paul post more but theres actually unfortunately nothing to say about him that isn't either boring or just sad and uncomfortable. i like him though. miserable little boy

[stinkiesdraws]

hi!! can you talk a bit about Ethan Stone? and perhaps the other members of the stone family? I see they're vampires! that's super rad!(✧ω✧)

The oldest is Ethan Stone, he is 30 and responsible for his two adopted younger siblings Cecilia who is 22 and Nicodemus who is 10. (Their ages varies depending on an roleplay they would be in!)

Ethan works at a graphic design company, making websites and shit...while his two siblings go to school. They are actually very modern vampires and don't dress like how they did in the picture I posted previously fnkskdks. Ethan forced them to take a nice photo together.

Cecilia!

I tragically don't have drawings of Nico! 😭 I'm really bad at drawing children jfkdkdks....

So I will do my best to flesh out how I view vampires because literally if I don't keep, no one will gkdkdkksks

Okay so the reasons vampires are able/need to drink blood is because all of them are anemic. They have a lack of red blood cell production, and high rates of red blood cell destruction so they need to consume blood just to keep their bodies functional.

They know they have to consume blood once they start getting a few symptoms like fatigue, cold hand/feet, shortness of breath, lightheadness, dizziness, or a fast heartbeat. Depending on how badly they need blood the symptoms will worsen until they go feral which is a state of vampire normally known for slaughtering. They have no control once they go feral and will regain consciousness once their bodies have a healthy amount of red blood cells.

This could be animal blood or human blood can quench their thirst however, drinking TOO animal blood will cause then to become more beast like, while Human blood would keep their humanity.

Vampire Powers

Create other vampires: Only pure bloods can create other vampires through human and it is by the vampire GIVING their own blood to a human. It would create a 1/4 vampire, so weaker than a pure blood or half blood. They can also impregnate or get pregnant humans and can spread the vampire heritage that way too.

Flight: A pure blood can fly on their own; other vampires change shape to fly.

Misting: Gives the vampires access to places that are hard to secure or reach.

Strength: Equal to that of many men; increase with age.

Hypnosis: Useful for luring and ensnaring victims.

Control the elements: Power extends over wind, rain and other natural forces.

Control of animals: Power extends over many creatures, including insects, rats, fleas and bats.

Eternal life: Varies in length; not all vampires are immortal. They age normally like humans until they are about 30s or 40s, then their aging slows down rapidly.

Scale walls: Vampires are nimble as spiders.

Transformation: Vampires can turn into bats, cats, dogs, wolves, and butterflies. Also insects, rats, birds, fleas, mice and locusts. They can also appear human, changing their ears and eye color, but they can't hide their little fangys

Drain life force: An attribute of the psychic vampire.

Heightened senses: They have better vision, smell, and hearing

Avoiding sunlight: Depending on how the vampire was raised, if they avoided sun too much while growing up, they don't get a resistance to it and will turn into ash. Older generation of vampires were more likely to avoid the sunlight than newer generations due to cultural differences or different times because of the vampire scare that happened 1700s to 1800s where it was just better to travel at night.

When vampires drink blood from someone or an animal, they produce Endorphins, Serotonin, Dopamine from their fangs to help the being feel better so it isn't traumatic. The only time they don't produce these chemicals is when they are feral, so they have aggression, and don't really care for the well being of their food lol

Thinkin I'm thinking the person/animal could go into basically a temporary high? Basically and the Vampire can also use their powers to erase the memory (but not the feeling and something could be used to trigger the memory)

Idk i hope that's a fun read gjdkkdks i normally just ramble to myself on my discord server 😭

[quirklessidiot]

title : cigarettes and parfaits [3] pairing : older!nanami kento x younger!reader [13 year age gap, ft toji fushiguro] Genre: romance, fluff, slice of life, josei, angst, comedy, strangers to lovers au

Summary: you’re pretty sure you’d remember marrying a man 13 years older than you, right?

Warnings: alcohol, smoking, mild smut, y/n making stupid decisions, everyones a human-au so yeh non-canon stuff and everyone’s happy (periODT) i keep forgeting to add that this isnt beta-rread..all of my stories arent so yeah shshs Notes: ah, i feel like this story will be lengthen more than 8-10 chapters shshshs i wanted to add a little spice anyways thanks for all the comments uwu ily all!

Masterlist || taglist || [prev ; next] [updates; every saturday!]

“Y/N-chan!!!”

You cringe in embarrassment as soon as you hear that awfully familiar and cheerful voice, you could barely remember this man and the events that transpired the night before but here he was, acting like your new best friend. You weren’t even sure if you wanted to go here but you needed clarity. Surely you didn’t just legally marry a man at an Izakaya out of all places last night?

“Oh, you actually did marry him.” Gojo Satoru proclaims as soon as you take a seat across him, he gestures around his face, “I could tell by your whole, ‘I hope this guy is messing with me’ face. You have it, signed and sealed. Even got the cute matchy rings that I had one of my assistants delivered.”

You pale at the thought of his assistant coming in with a silver ring. Wasn’t he sober? How could he not have stopped you two from doing something as reckless and stupid as this? Weren’t older men supposed to be more responsible than this?

“Why the hell didn’t you stop us?” You groaned, burying your face in your hands, embarrassment painted all over your features.

“I was just as drunk as you two.” He confessed, scratching his head, “probably even more drunk but anyways back to the topic in hand, I only remembered it when the same assistant came in and congratulated me about it. It’s good I had your number on my phone before you two bailed.”

“So you don’t really remember?”

“Bits and pieces.” Gojo grinned, this guy was a maniac, how did the serious man you met just this morning have friends like this? You probably wouldn’t even last long, “I did call Nanami-”

He’s cut off by the rough sound of someone pulling a chair out, you immediately jump on your seat when you realize it’s Nanami Kento, the guy from this morning. The man you had recklessly married!

“This better be some prank you’re pulling, Satoru.” His voice was anything but kind that you almost wanted to hide behind Gojo’s back.

“Hey, hey.” Gojo raises his hands, “Don’t look at me. I didn’t force you into anything and stop scaring your poor little partner.”

Nanami snaps his gaze towards you and you notice how his eyes soften just a bit when he sees your red ears and your eyes looking away from him, “You better call Geto and fucking fix this, I refuse to bother this young-”

“It’s fine.” You cut him off, still shy and red, “It’s...fine...I just…Please don’t think I’m burdened by it. It was technically my fault for even agreeing immediately.”

Nanami clenches his jaw and turns away, “Nevertheless. L/N-san’s young. I hope to not be such an uncouth man like you.” he retorts, voice sharp as he eyes the white-haired businessman up and down. Gojo, seemingly used to it, rolls his eyes behind his dark shades.

“Maybe you guys should try it out.”

The blonde man looks like he’s about to smite the white-haired man out of existence yet Satoru remains oblivious to his friend’s gaze, “Don’t ya think so? It will take a while for those divorce papers to settle in so why don’t you two go out and get to know each other? Who knows…” he sing-songs the last part and Nanami is so close to chunking his briefcase towards the tall businessman, not even caring 

“Ah, he’s not exactly wrong, Nanami-san.” you try to calm him down, placing a small hand on his broad shoulder.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually listening to this idiot’s idea.” Nanami replied, gaze narrowing.

“Not really but you have some problems I can help you out on and I have problems that you can help me out on...Of course, the last say is on you...”

“Told you I actually had a brain.” Satoru piped in.

“Shut up, Satoru.” he quips, then turns to you, “I’m thirteen years older than you, L/N-san. I have two high school kids that could pass off as your siblings, and-”

“Well, I technically did marry you.”

“You were drunk.”

“Doesn’t exactly really excuse it.” You laugh nervously, “The whole divorce process usually lasts up to a few months, some even takes a whole year. I could help you out with the boys and I can use you to ward my family off from moving back home.”

Nanami is quiet for a moment, actually thinking about it. Weighing the pros and the cons, not only would you be able to help him out but you’d also be able to get Gojo and blind-dating out of his back.

There really wasn’t anything he could loose, really.

“Or you two might fall in love.” Satoru teases, making Nanami throw him another side-eye, as if saying ‘I dare you to say another word.’

It’s a Thursday today and Sukuna absolutely loathed Thursdays     apparently because it reminded him of Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. They all were far from the weekend     Everyone seems to be happier than usual though. Maybe it was because you were there teaching some basic shit at the board or something.

“...and if we transfer this here and change the positive to a negative, you’ll end up having five as your answer.” You smile, placing your chalk down, “Does anyone have any questions?”

Echoes of no’s resonated throughout the room.

“Alright then, let’s end the lesson here so you guys can have an early lunch. I don’t think an assignment is in order since many of you were able to get a perfect score in the activity awhile ago.” You winked. A couple of whoops resonated throughout the whole class right after. 

As the kids shuffle out of the room of the class, Sukuna remains behind. The ojisan had cooked them something delicious this morning and he wanted to eat it in peace without that pesky Nobara grabbing a share from his bento and Yuuji’s annoying babbles about horror movies with his best friend Junpei (the only one who was really bearable was Megumi, really)

“Sukuna-kun?” you called out, snapping him out of his small trance,  “Are you alright?”

He notices a glint of worry in your eyes, he had to admit since his transfer here last Monday, you were the least annoying teacher in the academy     the blue-haired professor in Japanese literature was absolute shit since he loved to tease him a lot and that bald-headed teacher in science who looked a lot like Mike Wazowski was an annoying twerp who loved dawdling in him and Yuuji’s business     and you were kind of good at your job. Not only did his idiot of a brother stop coming to him and their ojisan for help in math but he could actually do the worksheets right and get an actual decent grade at it.

“Yeah.” he roughly replies.

“That’s good.” You smiled, he watched as you bind their worksheets together and clip them in utmost delicacy, “You should head to the cafeteria now, I heard they’re serving milk bread today.”

Without saying anything more, you left the room, leaving him there in the silence.

Well, the Christmas tree idiot was right.

You kind of had a motherly aura on you and it didn’t even look forced.

No wonder, everyone in this room was whipped for you despite your subject being a pain in the ass.

“You look like an idiot.” You mumbled as you slapped Mahito’s hand away in annoyance, your workmate wiggling his eyebrows like the little shit he is.

You completely forgot you did have someone like Gojo Satoru in your life and it was one of your co-workers, Mahito, a Japanese literature teacher who was too nosy for his own good.

“You’ve got a ring on your ring finger and a mailman comes in and gives you an invite for Zen’in Toji’s fortieth birthday.” he whistles, “Even Jogo-sensei gossiped by the water cooler awhile ago, saying that you had eloped with the man. Not that I’m judging you or anything...”

You choke on your saliva, clearly thrown off by the backhanded comment. That darn bald-headed fool that looked like the green eyed monster from the DreamWorks cartoon, he sure needed to lay off the gossip and actually focus on his job as the head of the science department, “You’re not denying it.” Mahito stated, narrowing his eyes in suspicion, “Why aren’t you denying it?”

“I’m not dating Megumi-kun’s father.” You grumbled, finishing up your paperwork, “That man is off limits.”

“Right,” he drawls on sarcastically, “...because you have a strict rule against dating hot older men with money.”

“I also teach his kids and his cousin…” You deadpan.

“We don’t even have a rule against that.” He retorts, rolling his eyes, “If we did, Hanami-sensei would’ve been fired a long time ago.”

“You’re an asshole.”

“And you’re so secretive. If it isn’t Toji Zen’in, who’d ask you out?”

“Hey, I do have a man.” You huffed, “and he’s very kind and considerate...”

The image of the tall and lean man sleeping next to you slowly wormed its way back from your memory and you feel your cheeks start to flush. Good god, what were you? twelve? How embarrassing.

You needed to get that image off of your head, it wasn’t right.

It was all temporary, anyways and he doesn’t even see you in that sort of way-

“Yes, I’m Sukuna and Yuuji Itadori’s guardian…” a very familiar stoic voice could be heard from the nearby table, cutting your thoughts short. Wait, were you so head over heels for the man that you started imagining him here? Yuuji and Sukuna’s guardian? Wait a minute.

All color drained from your face as you snap your head behind you to find the same man you were imagining.

Oh no.

Oh no, indeed.

There stood Nanami Kento in all his glory;  crisp suit, stoic face, and eyes laced with mild worry.

“...L/N-sensei is Sukuna-kun’s adviser, by the way. It would be best to discuss this with them.” Akari somberly informed the man, turning to your direction. You don’t miss the shift of expressions when he sees you standing there.

Your mouth parts and you know you look like gawking fish trapped in a small aquarium.

“Akari-sensei’s looking at you with the new hot daddy.” Mahito mumbles next to you, eyeing him up and down, “Definitely wonder where all these old men come from these days.”

You were only half-listening to your co-worker because your head was all over the place, just what were the odds that he was the guardian of the new transferee’s? Just how awkward would everything be? Why did it even have to be at this school out of all places?

Never ending questions pop out of your head as you approached them, “Good afternoon, Nanami-san.” Your smile comes out very stiff and awkward while you hold your hand out for him to shake, clearly there was no memo on how you were suppose to act around your sort-of-fake-husband-whos-kids-you-actually-taught.

Nanami reverts back to his stoic expression as he clears his throat, “Yes, good afternoon to you too, L/N-sensei.” he greets, maintaining a straight-laced tone.

“Akari-sensei says that Sukuna has been quite...rude...in class…” you try to rack your brains up to describe his kid.

“Your son literally pointed out that the history lesson I was teaching was fake and that I should study again so he could get his tuition’s worth.” Akari looks clearly perplexed and ready to throttle the boy if it was legal. You had to admit, Sukuna went overboard with that insult.

You knew how passionate Nitta was about her job and what Sukuna just said to her was like a big ‘fuck you, you suck.’ to her.

“I’ll be sure to talk to him about this,” he sighs, bowing down, “I’d like to ask for forgiveness for that, the boy is a good and smart student-”

“Nanami-san, the school not only cares about grades but character as well.” Akari Nitta sighed, cutting him off, “I’ll let this slide once, if he does that again, it goes on the record.”

You internally bit your cheek, still trying to process everything that was going on.

“I understand. Thank you for that.”

“I’ll walk him out, sensei.” You immediately say soon after, wanting to have some alone time with him, “Let’s go, Nanami-san.”

You walk right next to him silently, some students peerlessly glancing at the tall blonde next to you but you were too immersed in thought to notice the stares, “Nanami-san?” you ask softly as soon as you reach the exit.

Nanami Kento looks at you, his eyes still laced with a bit of worry, “It’s okay.” you silently comforted him, “Just talk to him calmly.”

“That’s not the problem.” he sighed, “I just didn’t expect that the person I married would be the boy’s teacher.”

You sweat drop, “Aren’t you worried about talking to Sukuna? I mean, he literally just disrespected a teacher and you said that he and you weren’t in good-”

“It’s easier to talk to him about that rather than…” he paused, showing his ring, “this.”

You blinked.

Seemed like Nanami knew what to say about the little attitude problem his son had, “So you must be used to this?” you asked, “Him disrespecting the teacher?”

You notice the shift of expressions on his face, you had only known this man for a few days so far but he was starting to get easier to read. His eyes shed more emotion than his face, no wonder he likes wearing those funny sunglasses a lot.

“It’s something I’ve scolded him over a couple of times,” he gruffed, trying to dance around the subject, it seemed like he had such a soft spot to the point where he had a problem with disciplining them, “At times I believe it’s just because he’s way too smart for his age. The boy has read history books for fun when he was a kid and solved quadratic equations to prove that he’s better than me when he was ten.”

“It still doesn’t give him the free pass to say things like that to a teacher”

“I know,” he acknowledged, “I’ll be sure to give him a better scolding-”

“No, you see. This is why he thinks he can get away with it. He isn’t afraid of you. You’ll only probably tell him that you can’t do that.” you frown, crossing your arms, “You do know that not all sensei’s are as nice as Akari-sensei and he could get in trouble for that even more in the future, right?”

Silence lingered between you two for a moment and suddenly you realize that you must’ve said something way off the rails.

“I..” you turn red, embarrassed by the sudden outburst, “That was too much, wasn’t it?”

You look at him directly in the eye, the worry-filled ones are now replaced with a softer gaze. God, he really needed to stop looking at you like a kid. It would only make this set-up more awkward!

“No,” he mumbles, “It...It wasn't too much…”

“Oh.” you cleared your throat, flustered and looking away from his face, “Well, okay then goodbye then Nanami-sa-”

You needed to get out of this conversation quick.

“Kento.”

Your gaze snaps directly towards him, clearly taken aback by the correction.

“What?”

“We’re technically married now, right?” he softly corrected, “Call me Kento.”

“Oh,” You uttered again, this time softly. You looked down on your shoes, it seemed like the floor looked really interesting now, “Then bye-bye, Kento.”

“Bye Y/N.”

He leaves you standing there, cursing yourself because of your erratic heartbeat at the way he says your name in that voice. First name basis? okay, totally normal for sort-of lovers, right?

taglist [if crossed out, i can’t tag u ; - ;]

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@Kurok1717 ;  @hcn421 ;  @shinhiromi ;  @airybnb ; @katshuya ; ​@atsuhaya

[hello-yue-here]

if anyone else saw the post saying that katara was gonna be 16 and sokka was gonna be 14 in the live action here is my take:

im pissed ab this.

and no, it’s not because its most likely being done so they can make zutara a couple. i dont care about that. i have nothing against zutara. i may not ship it myself but if you ship it good for you. ive seen cute fanart and cute fanfics for zutara that ive really enjoyed. i like zutara. not my favorites but i dont dislike them. just wanted to make that clear. that isnt what im mad about here.

im pissed because its gonna ruin katara and sokka’s characters.

by making katara older there is not a doubt in my mind that they will make her more “motherly” seeing as she will likely be responsible for taking care of sokka and aang. there has already been way too many issues in this fandom with stereotypes of katara being reduced to “just the mom friend” and nothing else. in my opinion many of the mom friend stereotypes that have been pushed onto katara in fanon has led to a lot of sexism towards katara and this will inevitably end up forcing the mother role onto her even more and thats just a no no for me. katara literally fights sexism in the NWT, plz dont force her to be a 16 year old girl forced to care for her brother and the avatar because she is older than them. katara deserves more than being forced into a motherly role for aang and sokka. again this is just my take on what i think will happen if katara is made to be the older sibling. i could be wrong. but i would really hate to see this happen because i know itll result in more sexism towards katara and i would really hate to see that.

and now sokka. a major part of sokkas character comes from the fact that he is an extremely protective older brother. because he is the OLDER brother he feels the need to be the man if the tribe. he is very responsible and very serious. this all stems from the fact that he is OLDER. he even says that he is the leader because of it. sokka pretty much IS the leader because he keeps these younger kids on track as an older brother. his insecurities largely stem from the fact that his little sister is a prodigy bender and he is not. there was literally a whole episode about it. and being an older brother w a prodigy sibling mirrors zuko and azula PERFECTLY and that parrallel is one of the most compelling things about atla!!! that will all be flushed down the drain. sure you can still have sexist sokka getting his butt whooped by suki without him being the older brother, sure sokka would likely still be insecure of his status as a nonbender without being the older brother, but in my opinion it would be much less compelling that way seeing as it stems from his status as. an. older. brother. his status as the older brother is also part of the reason why his relationship with hakoda is so interesting as well. his father left him behind to be the man of the tribe because he was older. he wants to make his father proud by proving that he can be a man. his healthyrelationship woth hakoda also DIRECTLY parrallels to zukos horrible relationship with ozai. WHICH IS ALSO AN EXTREMELY COMPELLING PART OF ATLA. sokka just wants to make his father proud by proving that he CAN protect katara. without this, his protectiveness is gone, leaving his protectiveness over Yue in the northern tribe and his protectiveness of suki at serpents pass and his protectiveness of toph on the airship rooted in nothing. sokka is protective BECAUSE he is the older brother. sokka as the younger sibling will reduce him to nothing more than comedic relief and strip him of much of the traits that make him an amazing three dimensional character.

all in all you dont have to agree with me. im not one of the writers. i cant confirm that mom friend katara and comedic relief sokka are what will result in the live action show due to the age swap. but i am very very very very VERY confident that that is what the characters we know and love will be reduced to should this occur. just my thoughts. just my opinion. (if you disagree thats okay but plz be respectful i tried v hard to be respectful when writing this as well)

tl;dr while it may seem inconsequential to change the ages of sokka and katara their roles and older brother and younger sister help shape their characters and changing that just to make zutara canon (even tho i have nothing against zutara. zutara stans please do not attack me ur ship is cute i swear.) it will also change the dynamic of the show we know and love and i am too attached to their original character arcs to be happy with this change.

have a lovely day everyone. go drink some tea and read a fluffy fic and distract urself from another live action atla disaster.

:)

EDIT: keep in mind the age swap isnt like totally confirmed yet so this could all end up being for nothing but yk still wanted to put my thoughts out there🥰 now if you will excuse me im going to write a college essay and then some fanfic cuz why not

EDIT TWO: pretty sure its fake. im sorry for how long this is. false alarm everyone! i think! i hope!

EDIT THREE: i ship zutara now lol. i still stand by this post tho. not happy ab the character age swaps.

[princeanxious]

Why would you hide the Villain remus and Janus thing in the tags, I'd read the hell outta Hero Virgil turned Villain

you mean this??? shdbic aaa Yeah I want to write it, but i also want to write a lot of things. xD but this is def one of those things i’d love to write a short-ish one-shot about just so I can write it.

can you imagine? Virgil, young and anxious, manifesting powers of the light and dark variety, able to manipulate shadows and summon electricity with such fine precision because he’s spent so long fretting over accidentally hurting someone with it that he refused to even dare try and step into the hero scene until he was 150% certain that he’d trained his powers to disconnect from his emotions so that he’d never have an outburst that could even harmlessly shock or scare someone. He’s so in control over his powers that its to an insane degree just because he wants to make sure he cant hurt anybody on accident.

(complete ramble continued under the cut bc boy howdy this got so long it might as well be its own short one-shot)

And, he’s worked so in depth with his powers because of course he can’t just suppress them!(Suppressing electricity based powers doesn’t get rid of that energy, it just makes that constantly generating energy stay put and build, which makes it even more dangerous when it’s finally released, so suppression is a no go) So of course not only does he work extensively with learning how to control his powers, but also how to healthily use them and expend his energy safely, effectively, and skillfully as he grows into them. Might as well push your limits of learning just how much your power can do if you have to learn how to exist safely around others by controlling it, right?

So, by default, by the time Virgil is both old enough and confident enough in his powers to consentingly apply for registry to the worlds heroes association, he’s both insanely skilled with his powers, and also insanely talented(the equivalent to a child prodigy, not that many people in charge of the worlds hero association believe that, though.). The people who had been interviewing him believed the same, thinking him to be just another super teenager boasting about his skills when they couldn’t even sense his power, thinking that what little power Virgil did have was not even worth bothering to report anything substantial about the interview. That he’d oughta go try the villain’s headquarters, because at least they take in wandering powerless for henchmen all the time.

Virgil, feeling pissed but not quite enraged yet, because what teenager wouldn’t hate it to be so invalidated and demeaned at being out right dismissed as a threat, let alone considered more of an invalid for not having powers, starts to display his power. 

First it’s the main interviewer’s phone that they’d been glancing boredly at, drained suddenly of all power. Then it’s the landline of that specific room, then it’s the lamp, the computer suddenly shuts off with zero warning and nothing of it turns on. The lamp in the corner of the room goes dark, bulb by bulb, and the printer in the room dies. Virgil’s eyes are glowing violet but he hasn’t moved any more than the annoyed twitch of an eyelid. the light’s overhead turn off, leaving the lights in the hallway still on, leaving the remaining light in the room coming from the single window in the room and the open doorway. 

He reaches up a hand, and snaps once, and shadows swallow up the light over the hallway and the window, acting as a wall from the inside and out. 

Now the only light in the room is his glowing eyes.

The second interviewer is struggling to summon fire from her hands to light the room, but it doesn’t work. The energy she’s using to summon the fire is immediately sapped by Virgil’s force, there isn’t even a spark. The first interviewer can feel Virgil’s power now, it’s bright and burning. It’s like he has a core in the middle of his being like a sun’s core because its storing so much power, and the only reason they can see it now is because Virgil’s using his power. He has so much control that even on a nonphysical level it’s nearly tangible, the way that they can see his shadow powers conceal even the existence of his power, now that they know what their looking at.

In mere seconds, this kid has tipped the world on their head and put the fear of god into them, an undetected yet undeniable threat in the making. 

They watch his eyes tilt with his head, and the distinct sound of the entire building powering down is unmistakable, shouts of surprise and confusion due to the failure of the buildings many fail-safes failing to trigger. And then, with another snap, all power is restored to normal in the blink of the eye, all machines and lights are functioning perfectly, not an irregular shadow in sight, and all at once Virgil reads as a normal human teenager, not a whiff of power to be sensed. He looks pretty peeved, though.

“Maybe I will try my luck at the Dark Side then, at least they care about the people that look to be taken in. Let me know if you changed your mind, I’d love to have a do-over. With a different set of interviewers, mind you.” before he walks out of the interview room, off to blow off some steam legally and safely.

Imagine his outrage when a week later he’s served a summons to court, deeming him a “Threat to Society” and “better left in jail until the court can be convinced of his good nature” because he’s an “out of control juvenile gifted with an unprecedented amount of power that he couldn’t possibly control without strict legal supervision and interference and cannot be trusted to continue to exist as a normal citizen until the W.H.A deems it safe.”

Faced with possible lifelong inprisonment and zero control over the rest of his life because an association of supers think that they know better and that he’s some stupid teenager that was set loose on the world with means to only cause catastrophe and devastation, or freedom at the hands of some ambiguously grey moral decisions every once in a while and being treated as a normal human being even if he has to be a henchman to another super for a while? 

The decision isn’t a hard one to make.

So imagine his surprise when he’s not only accepted into the Dark Side after being respectfully asked to demonstrate the full extent of his power and his control over it, but instead of becoming a villain’s henchmen, he instead gains the full title of Villain(with another Villain(Janus) stepping in to mentor him and show him the ropes of the rules and everything), and even further: Gets his own henchmen assigned to him. 

A pair, Patton and Logan. 

Patton has a partial shapeshifting ability, but it only really lets him turn into a big frog man, making him perfect for doing any of the main heavy lifting for the team, and also perfect for protecting Logan when under attack. He’s built like a himbo and is absolutely 100% a himbo, heart of gold, super strong, buff dad bod, the whole sha-bang.

Logan has a power that is one part linked with memory, one part linked with technology. His brain can retain information like a computer databank, and he can get any misfunctioning technology to work if he can get his hands on it or a connection to it. He avoids all the quirks that interfere or damage real databanks and technology(like magnets, water, and short-circuiting) and can semi-directly connect with devices he is familiar with, without having to hold/touch/look at one.

All together, they have the beginnings of a well rounded team: the brawns, the brains, and the leader with plans and the power to make it happen. Even before finding out their reasons for coming to the dark side, Virgil becomes ride or die for them. (And honestly, they’re also pretty ride or die for him too, not even starting with the fact that they’re both like 26-27 and Virgil is an 18 year old anxious mess that had to make the decision over being the bad guy or losing any and all autonomy for the foreseeable future, which is gonna fuck up any kid and young adult’s brain. So, lowkey adopt him as a younger sibling even though he’s the boss of them and just barely taller than them.(Virgil is a tol lanky boi, and while Logan, standing at 5′9″, is but an inch shorter than Virgil at the start, Virgil still has growing room and peaks at about 6′4″ by the time hes 22. Patton at his normal height is like 5′6″, but frog man height is like 8′3″)

Oh, and they definitely make the Worlds Hero Association regret not taking Virgil’s existence kindly, Big Time.

[numbaoneflaya]

Can I get a list of all ur ocs?

Well anon youve done it, you made me make a list of all my major OCS in one place. I hope your happy with yourself. Under the cut for obvious reasons, may link in my blog desc later.

Modern/BTD verse!!

Jilly- Ferret beastkin little creature, was recently turned into a werewolf by vincent as well so she's running around on full moons in a wereferret wolf hybrid creature form. Chaotic and friendly and wants to be everyone's bestie. She has the most energy in the world and is very kind hearted. Banned from most Claires for stealing and from one Home Depot for climbing the shelves. Prone to living life with rose colored glasses on and seeing the best in everything/everything even when there's nothing there. Socialization is a must for her and is why being basemented/kidnapped broke her psych so quickly and developed severe stockholm. Sometimes overly talkative/enthusiastic and can scare people off. Even if she sees someone shes decided shes friends with be noticeably 'evil', will convince herself it must be for some reason/her fault and ignore it.

Ciggy- Undead punk still learning to harness his powers to interact with the world as a ghost. Was sacrificed by a cult he joined for free concert tickets and to get laid. Likes to cause problems on purpose both pre and prior death and he's not above possessing someone once he learns how to. Was called Rooster in high school before he dropped out because he's loud, obnoxious and always screaming. And also has bright red dyed hair. Looking 4 ways to become less ghosty bcs he wants to be able to help raise his infant daughter, whom he died before he could meet. Bit annoying and in your face, likes poking at bruises, his or others. Kind of a sad heart seeking attention through volume and persistence.

Mike: Vampire loser! Sells drugs and lives at raves. Was turned when she was attacked by a coked out vampire (whom she supplied the product to) and has major scarring on her face and chest. Needs a somewhat constant influx of blood so shell sometimes take victims back to her place and chain them up, slowly draining them over time. Feels bad (ish) about it tho so it is possible to survive her if you are nice and or interesting enough. Kind of desperate for a friend and for love. Is a stalker. If she likes you enough/finds you interesting, she might just appear in your house one night and start rummaging through your fridge like nothing is wrong and youve been besties for years. Its best to indulge her and be friendly, otherwise she could turn violent quickly if her feelings are hurt.

Kilaine- Regular human woman, but fucked up. Born and raised by an elite waspy society she had an interest in the human body and pain tolerance since she was young. Quickly learned that these traits were socially unacceptable in most professions, so she became a doctor. The only family she cared about was her younger sister who she lost in a car accident, where they were flipped over and trapped inside while it was afire. While her sister burned up in front of her Kilaine only lost her left arm and had major burns on her body. This tipped her descent into sadism and she is now madly obsessed with bringing her sister back no matter the cost. Rude and offstandish, clinical.

Dragon age verse!

Thurwen- My main Hero of Ferelden with a bad temper and a heart of gold. City elf from the Denerim Alienage, 18 at the start of origins. She's a reaver warrior with a lot of pent up rage which sometimes scares others when she lets it out in battle. Over the years she's grown less moody as she's had to take the role of Commander. Crude sense of humor and violent impulses, very sensitive to the plights of others and tries often to help. Never seen crying in public but only cries to herself at night- major martyr and hanged man complex.

Caz- My circle mage elf inquisitor who was an apostate before the conclave. Blood magic, but make it sneaky. Wary of strangers and new faces, always dealing with the impulse to flee/find a high vantage point. Endless curiosity about the unknown/ the forbidden/ naughty, was supposed to be made tranquil for it but she escaped. Kind of a little creature as well, lived on her own for a while as an apostate in the woods, filed her teeth down to sharp ends to make herself look more intimidating (shes 5 ft tall) and less cute (her elf ears are huge and expressive, which shes embarrassed about)

Dag and Thagna- Carta twins! Professional lyrium smugglers since birth pretty much. Raised casteless in dust town and had to work their way up the chain of command by themselves. Dag is the brother, Thagna the sister. Their father traded them to the carta for drinking money and their mom died in childbirth so they have somewhat of a codependent relationship. Both charismatic and calculating, friendly and agreeable but won't hesitate to put a dagger in your back. Hard to pin down morally or physically, squirrelly bastards.

Reila: Dalish elf who works for the inquisition/ is the inquisitor in some aus. She has an extreme fixation on elvhen history and rebuilding what they have lost. Not a people person, prefers solitude. Takes some time to warm up to shemhlen as she has a hard history with them. Good friends with Caz, who recruited her in the first place. Doesn't understand very many social cues and finds societal expectations limiting and frustrating. Fondness for halla and hooved animals, which she finds graceful.

Elder scrolls verse!

Valkya: Near seven foot nord woman whos over a thousand years old by the events of skyrim. Tall and buff, two handed warrior and compulsive hero there to bask in the spotlight save the day. She was killed at the start of the events of Elder scrolls online and had her soul ripped out and sent to coldharbor and she's just been a pain in the ass about it since then. Her body can physically die and will not regrow pieces. Her soul however will escape and teleport to the nearest source of power where her body will regrow from an aetherial plasm until its whole again. Loud and brash, friendly and jovial. Actually pretty keen especially after centuries of life but prefers to play dumb as it makes people underestimate her. Plus, she really does enjoy mud wrestling and drinking contests and acting generally like a rambunctious frat boy. Ha developed a bit of a substance problem and a problem with acting out, as after being alive so long she would turn to anything to dull the ache inside of her that never goes away.

Espira- My Dragonborn! Redguard from Hammerfell who was briefly in the Ash’abah due to killing undead while protecting her parents water farm as a child. Ran away from them after years and went to Cyrodille, then to Skyrim and was caught crossing the border. Reserved, kind and soft spoken, she's a sword and shield warrior who's committed herself to doing good in the world by helping others. Dislikes killing and anything messy but believes it is often necessary in order to protect the weak. She blacksmiths often to save money on the upkeep of her own equipment, and takes up metal jewelry working as a hobby with the excess material. Prone to trusting others too much and giving too many second chances, as shes always looking for ways to make even the most hardened criminal a second look at life.

Riley- Espiras little brother who she locked in the wardrobe during the event of the water farm attack. In preventing him from doing violence against the undead she kept him from being conscripted into the Ash’abah. He's way more chaotic than his sister, and suffers from a case of little sibling syndrome in which he will often pester/poke at people just to get a rise out of them. Still kind hearted as his sister, he tries to hide it because he believes that the world is a cruel place and the cruel survive. Despite that belief he is often still unable to force himself to be cruel/careless, only making a show of it so that others leave him alone and don't see that he's very sensitive and emotional. Deaf in one ear due to a magic mishap in his youth, he trained and enchanted his most beloved rats to live for years and sit on his shoulder, alerting him to noises he would not otherwise notice.

Felria: Evil vamp :/ chaotic evil dunmer necromancer. Small and devilish and likes dead bodies too much. Manipulative and cunning, she loves acting. She's a trained assassin for the dark brotherhood and is the speaker. Likes dressing up for missions and wearing disguises like its all a play. Loves toying with people more than she loves killing them, will act in ways that cause as much trauma as possible for other people just for fun and she finds the reactions interesting. Considers herself too far removed from most people's perception of morality and of her so it's hard for her to trust someone or see them as worthy of knowing her. Finds the psychology of grief and fear to be interesting and wants to study them first hand. The hero of kvatch.

Herren: Fifty something year old rat woman looking for something to keep her going. Ran away from her wealthy family in her youth when they wanted her to take charge of the household, instead became an infamous jewel thief and swashbuckler. Spent most of her life traveling and stealing and double dealing. She's smarmy and sarcastic, a serial romancer of the highest caliber. Bit of a show off and a hedonist, always looking for the next good party or new product to snort. Her family died off due to the hard times she wasn't there for and she keeps looking for bigger and bigger heists to fill her appetite as she's chronically bored and lonely, though wont accept intimacy and will scoff at it out of the belief she doesn't deserve it. Irresponsible and selfish, lonely and terrified of any sort of commitment. Fun to party with though!

[ofkareenas]

.  ∘ ∗   :   🐝   𝙸𝙽𝙲𝙾𝙼𝙸𝙽𝙶   …

JANHVI KAPOOR, CIS WOMAN, TWENTY-FIVE, SHE / HER  ⟨  ✽  ⟩   hey, you haven’t bumped into  kareena puri  lately, have you? they have been living here for the past  two years  and during that time, locals have gotten to know them as  charismatic  &  creative.  a little birdie told me they can be quite  stubborn  &  opinionated  though. explains why they’re an online fashion brand owner and designer .  they really remind me of  morning beach walks, sketchbooks filled with new designs, the sound of a sewing machine running.  if you’re ever looking for them, i bet you can find them around port briar lighthouse.

hi again, it’s tally ! this is my second baby kareena !! she’s very new to me and it’s pretty exciting bc i tend to just recycle characters kjhfgkj again, if you’d like to plot, please reach out to me on dms, or you can like this and i’ll reach out. you can also talk to me on discord if you’d prefer that. ( gowon face insurance company#8416 ) also pls excuse how messy this is, i havent written a proper full intro in a while.

.  ∘ ∗   :   🐝   𝙱𝙸𝙾𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙿𝙷𝚈   …

kareena puri

march 30th, 1996 - 25 yrs old ; aries

cis woman, she/her, bisexual (closeted to her family, not so much to anyone else)

born in mumbai, india. raised in seattle, washington.

currently residing in port briar, maine

pinterest board: here

TW / CW: none, other than a controlling family, which idk if it even should be tagged but yuh

kareena knew it, she was lucky compared to others. she had it better than some of her peers, and she recognized that privilege. but if she could trade her family life for a “normal” one, she would in the quick snap of a finger.

kareena’s family was pretty much old money. she came from a long line of doctors in almost every medical field, and they own so many private hospitals and clinics in many countries. if you happen to hear the Puri family name, you probably would associate it with these things: a big hospital that you probably drove by with your car or a surgeon that your doctor wanted to refer you to.

every child in the family was expected to go to med school. it was the only way to keep the family legacy and pride going. of course, the more new generations came in the family, the more there were those who decided to take different fields of work instead. and of course, the eldest members in the family would always voice their disappointment in them, and would always make sure to remind them that they’re a disgrace no matter how successful they are in whatever field they went into.

kareena didn’t know what she was doing at the young age of sixteen. her parents would boast about how she would be a successful doctor when she grows up, just like her older siblings, and how her younger siblings would be the same as well. all kareena did was nod and smile. she didn’t want this.

the thing is, she was a naturally great student with really good grades, and yet her parents would be disappointed if she got a B+ or even an A- on a subject every once in a while. she didn’t get it. she thought she was doing her best. although the complaining about her report cards was getting a bit too much coming from her mother, and that’s when kareena really started to not give a fuck. yes, she still got good grades for her own sake, but she started to do whatever she wanted. she hung out with kids her parents would call a bad influence, and started to skip some school days or go to parties on the weekends. it was fun and liberating to her.

once her senior year was over and kareena was graduated with a high school diploma, her family was back at it again, trying to get her to apply to all the notable medical schools out there. she had protested about it, and family fights ensued, and with some threats, kareena was forced into applying. next school year, she was in another city, studying to be a surgeon, and her mind wasn’t into it at all. she only lasted one year before she decided to drop out and transfer to FIDM, a fashion school in L.A, instead.

kareena has always been into fashion. the way she dressed would tell you so. how she was always on the latest fashion, and how she would have so many sketchbooks and scrapbooks of fashion related things. she loved making her own clothes at home with her sewing machine. her mother would tell her that it’s a nice hobby, but she never guessed that her daughter would want to pursue it as a career. the color drained out of her face when she saw what kareena had done. she was angry and disappointed, and mostly worried about what the rest of the family would say, more than she cared about her daughter’s wants and needs. kareena, however, didn’t care. she was happy. she moved out to be closer to campus, and soon enough after graduation, she left everything behind and decided to go somewhere quieter: port briar, maine. this was completely different from everything she was used to, it was so quiet and small, but she loved it. she finally feels at peace with herself.

now, kareena is a successful fashion designer. she started an online business, and it has been booming, with fashion influencers promoting her work. she was hoping that someday she would get to do bigger things, like making custom items for celebrities and being featured in fashion magazines and fashion weeks. she could only wish and work towards that for now.

and even with all of that, even when kareena had picked herself up from the ground on her own and built her own business, her family still didn’t approve. they still pretended to care about her, but would make sure to remind her of how disappointed they are in her and the path she’d taken. they would sit and wonder what it would’ve been like if she continued to go to med school, and how successful she could’ve been. and all kareena would do in response is smile and say that she’s successful anyway, but at least now she’s doing something she actually loves.

.  ∘ ∗   :   🐝   𝙷𝙴𝙰𝙳𝙲𝙰𝙽𝙾𝙽𝚂   …

born in mumbai, india. moved to seattle, washington when she was still a baby, and was raised there for the rest of her life, all while still visiting family back home.

kareena is the middle child of 5 siblings. two older brothers and two younger sisters

she is bisexual, and she’s pretty open about it. except to her family. shes not out to them

she believes in working hard, but she also believes that everyone deserves to have fun and get a break every once in a while. she currently is the only main person doing all the work for her business, but she’s hoping to soon hire anyone who has the same interests as her

her designs are mostly evening wear dresses and such. think teuta matoshi or marionela type of dresses, all flowy and puffy, giving fantasy feels

altho i would say her success is more like early hope macaulay, when she was still starting out. if no one is familiar with her, she is an irish fashion and textile designer who got famous for her knit wear on instagram, and she’s p young !! u might recognize her work if u look her up <3

she currently lives alone port briar, with her rented home facing the beach. exactly how she likes it. it was different and definitely not lavish like her home growing up, but she liked it better. she could’ve lived somewhere more expensive, but she didn’t want that.

owns a studio where she usually works. there is more space for her there than what she used to have at home. all the design process, sewing and even photoshoots take place there usually

if not working, kareena could be found at the rocky beaches near the port’s lighthouse or off somewhere on an adventure. she is always here to have a good time

honestly kareena is still such a new character for me, so if i think of any other hcs, i’ll add them here

.  ∘ ∗   :   🐝   𝙲𝙾𝙽𝙽𝙴𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂   …

friends from school, could be from seattle or L.A: kareena would’ve kept in contact with those friends tbh shes the type of person to keep her friends around. even if they were just added to her snapchat or followed on instagram. she would keep up with them

toxic relationship / gf: THIS

exes ?? we could definitely plot this out

high school ex perhaps 👀

FWB: no strings attached 

neighbors: she lives on sea sprite lane

family members? kareena would be hoping that left them all behind in the past, but it can’t be denied that she has a big family and she could possibly run into any of them at any moment

omg crush perhaps ! idm if it’s one sided, and it could either be kareena having feelings or the other person

a friend she had a falling out with: she probably met this person two years ago when she first moved here. something might’ve happened and one thing after another, they dropped each other and it was probably the worst falling out for both of them

clients / customers for her business perhaps. or maybe a helping hand!! 

literally anything u wanna do, lets gooo

[uwuwriting]

My OCs

Okay okay so these are my OCs, I’m sorry if their names aren’t really Japanese I googled most of their names back when I started creating them. I hope you enjoy them and well let's get started. I didn’t include Sky aka Shirakumos daughter even though technically she is one of my OCs, I felt that since I have introduced her in my fics *by name* I’ll leave her a rather blank slate for yall *I can describe her as well if yall want that though*. Hope you like them and yes some of the quirks were inspired by Avatar. Love ya💖💖💖

Kenushima Akane

 Akane is in her mid 20s, her birthday is on 30th of December making her a Capricorn and is part of our favorite villain group, the LoV. She was the eldest child of two pro heroes who married because it would satisfy the media and boost their careers. She had two younger siblings, the twins Annya and Arakan. She is around 5’7 (170cm) with fairly long auburn hair which are always braided so they don’t get in her way, amber eyes and a burn mark on her right shoulder from a small scuffle with our favorite fire user. Her hair and eyes become a dark red when she uses her quirk making her even more menacing. She wears a black mask over her eyes, keeping that way her identity a secret and a rather tight uniform consisting of black leather overall-shorts matched with a black-red plaid shirt and thigh highs with black military boots. Her weapon of choice is anything you can swing. Her quirk is a powerful blood bending type which she inherited from her mothers’ side. She can control the blood in someones’ system to the point of a heart attack or a stroke. Once the blood is out of the persons’ system she can still wield it, sharpening it into a blade like shape and cut through both flesh and bone, the new blood adding to the power of her makeshift blade. Her limits begin when she gets a nose bleed followed by either her eyes or ears starting to bleed as well; the final stage is giving herself a heart attack but she has never reached that point thankfully. It’s a self-destructive quirk since she pushes her body’s boundaries everytime she activates it, making her vulnerable to diseases after a particularly hard fight. She is a master of many forms of martial arts, kicking anyone's ass without even having to use her quirk.  Her family is wreck *lmao*. Since her parents married out of convenience the kids were results of moments of weakness between the two adults. Her household wasn’t very affectionate, partnered with her fathers’ constant absence and negligence and her mothers overly obsessive quirk demands, her relationships soon turned abusive. Excessive training and brutal punishments were her mothers’ tactics to ensure a picture perfect quirk state which she could boast about in the media. Her father was a decent figure during the sparse moments when he was actually in the house. He treated his kids with some trace of humanity and not like objects but he too didn’t really care. Everything went downhill when rumours of affairs surfaced and her mother lost her senses, killing their father on the kitchen floor before getting to the children. Akane tried to protect her siblings but was easily tossed aside by her mother and she doesn’t remember what actually happened that night. The only thing she knows for sure is that she was now an orphan and one sibling short, losing both her home and her brother that night. She didn’t stay in foster care for long since she dipped, joining a group of castaways called the Deck. Due to her quirk she was named the Queen of Hearts and became one of the most feared and powerful villains in Japan. Soon she joined the LoV after Shiggy approached her, officially meeting Dabi *who is her s/o btw lol*. She’s still close with her little sister Annya and owns a bookstore so she won’t have to steal. She has morals *shocker*, killing only those who have comitted crimes varying from abuse to murder or fraud. She is against useless killing and would prefer to clear the streets from scum rather than litter it with herself. She’s kinda like an anti-hero. She joined the LoV so she could have easier access to the insights of the hero industry and slowly help take out those hero frauds. She likes cooking Mexican food, her favorite animal is the fox and she is deathly afraid of spiders to the point she once burned her table using a lighter and hairspray because she had seen a spider on it. All in all she is a lovely person *I think*.

Kenushima Annya

Annya is 15 and part of class 1-A, her birthday is on the 3rd of January *like me heh* making her a Capricorn. She is the youngest of a twin set and has an older sister, while her parents were pros. She is around 5’7 (170cm) with shoulder length dark brown hair, amber eyes and faint lightning like scars scaling down both of her arms. Dark lavender streaks appear in her hair when she over uses her quirk and her scars shine the same color many times pulsating along with the surges of her blasts. Her uniform consists of a tight black crop top with azure and magenta details alongside black pants, black boots which are specially designed to give her extreme jumping power helping her also levitate for a short period so she can unleash her attacks and lastly gloves that cover almost all of her scars *also black with the same patterns as the top*. Has basic combat skills but she mostly prefers to rely on her quirk. Speaking of her quirk, she has a combo of a water and a lightning quirk making her able to easily electrocute others without short circuiting like Kami. She can control any form of water, making her easily overpowered in seaside missions but she can also control any liquid which has some water in it. However she cannot create water from thin air, like Shoto can make ice, and she can’t freeze it. Much like her sister she uses water mostly as a whip or a blade. Lightning is used mainly as one of her ultimate moves since she doesn’t have full control over it and it tends to hurt her scars when she does use it. She can let the purple strings of light course through her and hit her target with incredible force making her excellent for range attacks. Just like her sister she reaches her limits when her nose starts to bleed and she can pass out from dehydration  due to her quirk using up some of the water inside of her body with each attack. Now for her family life. She was a late bloomer and that was unacceptable according to her mother. She didn’t showcase signs of having a quirk until the age of 9 when her mother attacked her and her siblings. In a fit of rage and despair her mother tried killing her for ruining the familys’ image with her quirklessness. Her twin brother tried to save her from her mother *just like Akane did* only to be tossed aside as well, hitting the back of his head on a nearby table. Seeing both of her siblings on the ground *and almost being choked to death by her abuser* Annya activated her quirk, losing complete control over her powers resulting in her scars and the death of her mother. Arakan was pronounced dead on arrival leaving the two girls the only surviving members of the Kenushima family. After Akane’s disappearance, Annya was moved from home to home for about a year before being adopted by a couple and living as much of a normal life as she could. Her mental health isn’t the best as one can imagine, suffering from PTSD from the incident and having self hating tendencies. Becoming a hero is her way of proving to herself that she’s not a monster and that she can indeed help others. In class 1-A she tends to hang out with the Dekusquad and two other girls who I’ll introduce down the line. Her hero name is Electra and her s/o is Shoto *lol siblings are dating siblings tf*. She likes Autumn and Winter, loves going ice skating, has many plants in her room and loves watching horror movies with her friends.

Aizawa Kaiya

Kaiya is 15 and part of class 1-A despite her father being the homeroom teacher. Her birthday is on the 19th of June making her a Gemini. She sports the legendary jet black hair, her hair is also pretty long so she always has to braid it or put it up in a ponytail and she has egirl bangs *I don’t know how else to describe them*. Her eyes are a striking azure and she has dyed the tips of her hair the same color. Ya girl is shorter than the Kenushimas, barely reaching 5’2 (160cm). Her hero costume consists of black cargo pants with multiple pockets, a black turtleneck and chest straps(?) around her waist and collarbone finishing the look with black military boots. Sometimes she might wear a gas mask which helps her control her breathing.  Now for her quirk. It’s some type of psychic power, she can hear people’s thoughts making it easy for her to know what they are about to do, giving her the upper hand almost every time, but she can aslo channel her own and others thoughts and make dark shards out of them. These shards can be thrown with amazing speed or create a protective wall in front and above her. Her quirk ,though drains her very easily, making it hard to breath and walk in a straight line. She gets light headed while the voices inside her head get overly loud. Through practice she can push her boundaries and use more of her quirks’ power. Lastly in order for her to hear your thoughts she needs to see you. Once she sees you for even a quarter of a second, she can see into your head even long after you have left her line of sight. Her family life is very calm compared to the Kenushimas. She is the daughter of Aizawa’s sister who vanished when Kaiya was five. Having no one else to care for her since her real father wasn’t in the picture, Aizawa took his niece in and raised her as his own. She was too little to remember her mother and for years she believed that Shouta was her actual dad but Dadzawa did tell her the truth. Nothing really changed, she still calls him dad and they have a lovely father-daughter relationship. She loves Eri and loves being her older sister, playing with her, doing her hair and taking her to the dorms to meet her friends. She has a pet cat named Majesty who she uses to bribe Aizawa to buy snacks. She likes rainy days, beating Shinsou’s ass during training, being pinned by Shinsou while training, Halloween, cats and fluffy blankets. She is friends with mostly Annya, Shinsou and Sky but she doesn’t mind hanging out with the Deku or the Baku squads. Her hero name is Calypso. Her s/o is Shinsou much to Aizawa’s dismay. He is salty because this happened right under his nose, Dadzawa was too busy looking out for the 1-A boys that he completely ignored his trainee pinning his daughter down during training *he is really glad that she likes Shinsou bc he knows that he is a good kid*.

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[thelostandforgottenangel]

Nightmare AU: Part 2 - Life in the Wind

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Her eyes snapped open fast, now breathing hard and unable to move her body for what felt like an eternity.

A few things told her it was all a dream even if it had felt real

For one, she was in a soft warm bed instead of on a cold concrete floor; from the corner of her eye she could see the intricate paintings that expanded across her walls rather than the metal bars and bricks she had grown up with finally taking a deep calming breath before forcing her body over once feeling returned her eyes following the painted vines across the ceiling while gathering her thoughts; having not had that specific nightmare in years it was enough to leave her shaken looking around realizing, for the most part, it had all been a horrible dream

Or at least parts of it had

Twenty-one years ago, Sacks industries unleashed a chemical into the air of New York City but, instead of bringing the city to its knees like they had hoped it killed hundreds of people instantly, created monsters like nobody could have ever imagined within days, and in a twist of unforeseen impossibilities had mutated a good portion of the cities population within a few weeks

Anyone not affected by the deadly chemicals was quickly evacuated from the city and it was officially barricaded off as a military quarantine zone

Only armed recruits were ever allowed in or out

For the unlucky people who had been changed and survived the second stage of the chemical a worse fate then death awaited them

They were promised one thing; to be cured and reunited with their loved ones once they were better what they got was imprisonment and no help in sight within the barriers that made nightmares reality and hell look like a five-star vacation resort

Sack’s industries was brought in by the government after the attack; still under the radar that they had been the cause of the catastrophe being funded to make a cure in hopes of bringing the city back but under the radar, they were continuing their malevolent ways already holding the cure in four mutant children but planned to line their pockets before releasing anything to the public

Two years later only those well off and able to pay ever saw the cure

From all over the city out of desperation families had come to them in need of help because as children were born weeks to months later it became clear the mutations didn’t stop, lots of parents were promised they could help and were promised they would one day hold their kids again

No one ever knew what really happened

That was where the breeders were brought in, a city-wide mandate that any woman unfortunate enough to be pregnant months after the chemical attack were brought in for round the clock care, once the test showed who was a carrier of the toxins they were separated into different floors

Blood work was done daily to keep the baby’s health in check all the way up to delivery to be sure their child wouldn’t carry the toxins gene passed on from their mother’s most never left if they did carry it unless they expired in birth, those who survived were never allowed to see the child because once it was out the baby was taken kept healthy and adopted out if it carried no mutation

If the mother did not show signs of mutation before the births and the child was born normal they were allowed to leave the city happy and free and it all went under the radar because level one was all anyone saw unknown to the world underneath Sack’s building led to level two and three where the others were kept

None of the families who turned in their children or family ever realized the error in their choices… or at least maybe they didn’t until they got those calls

It was announced that children couldn’t survive the chemical months after one by one those families were called with the heartbreaking news that their precious children had not made it succumbing to the toxins now running through their bloodstreams, when in fact; the children were thriving but being imprisoned and used for their own sick agenda to further their financial gains

None of them died at first; some were sold across the world to other organizations to prove they were of use, some as they aged were trained to be soldiers for the Master’s plan and added into his forces once they were broken, but it became clear the older the kids got the less controlled they became; some becoming violent even greatly unpredictable and for a long time it was disregarded until one of the higher-ups was killed by their pet in her sleep

It was then they started the slayings, one day a month where the test subjects were turned outside into the fenced-off areas of the city and made to run while being shot at before the cages were opened and the hunts commenced, there was no running away when getting to close to the walls meant getting shot on the spot; but if they could survive they lived until the next examination or were killed on the spot there was no telling what awaited the survivors when they returned

It was all a game with less than five percent chance of survival unless – they were of use to somebody

Anyone seen as useful was not put out in the hunts, but instead they were placed in a protective confined area where they were forced to watch as their friends or siblings were killed before their eyes – and she had watched way too many kids placed out there without a chance in hell of survival

Shaking her thoughts away not really wanting to think on the past she eventually forced herself up from her mattress as somebody lightly tapped on her door calling out through the thin wooden barrier “Dae - you might want to get up otherwise your going to have a cuddle buddy in there- again” the deep authoritative voice made her chuckle even though it was clear they had all just got up themselves before the off-key singsong voice coming from downstairs had her grinning to herself knowing breakfast was probably almost ready

Well she knew it was; because the smell filling her room told her it was a good day to eat

Also, she didn’t have to cook for once

Stepping in the bathroom she looked into the mirror seeing the same face she had since coming to this place starting the flashbacks of seeing it in the glass cages they were held in while being drained of blood before getting tossed back into her cell or the metal walls of the labs as she was dragged away but still every day she had to remind herself that part of her life was over she was no longer fighting to live

They couldn’t hurt them anymore or at least she had hoped so after this long but she couldn’t help thinking about her first memory after waking up in the hospital

A week before the nightmare begun

Her parents who had been out of town meeting with doctors and specialists downstate in hopes of saving their child returning an hour after the chemical attack just before the city had been closed down arriving at the overfilled hospital to find chaos and panic, getting to the NICU they discovered doctors stunned in the halls refusing to enter

Within the room in question, they stepped forward finding a frozen over winter wonderland and two unmoving nurses who had been tending to the girl when the room had frosted over upon her opening her eyes, fearing the change of their two-year-old daughter who had gone from terminally ill to perfectly healthy completely in a matter of hours the two had brought her to the city’s savior

Eric Sacks

Her baby pictures from the files Bethany had stolen showed a normal boring yet cute looking toddler; short dark brown hair just above her shoulders and mocha brown-eyed innocence in its truest form but there in front of him stood a pale girl with eyes like ice and silver hair that hung down her back

They had sold her to the man in hopes she held the key to a cure not realizing how big of a mistake they were making if they had even cared, a few years later they returned with their second child not knowing what to do and both wanting to live normal lives after passing several tests proving neither of them carried the toxin but not willing to raise something like what had come from the woman only days before in a hospital east of the zone; a small girl who looked much like the daughter they had gotten rid of and told had passed away of unforeseen complications had very similar features to her older sister

Being, and

Subject 5862; or what she was supposed to be called was a tiny baby only a few days old and weighted less then six pounds at most, had a head full of white hair like fresh fallen snow much like the unseeing eyes that met the girl as night fell, she had named her Luna because the crying bundle was placed in the same cell given to her to care for on a full moon just after the hunts ended

The girl had cared for her like she was her own – no the baby was hers and that would never change no matter how long it had been since Luna’s death, she had fed her even if she couldn’t fend for herself at the age of five learning early how to care for infants becoming the protective mother to any child placed in with her

She had been called subject zero by the scientist being the first kid to be ever brought to them but to the younger children placed within her care she had been named ‘Daenery’ by a few of them old enough to talk

She never understood the meaning or how any of them pronounced the ridiculous name; the children were the only ones who knew her secret that scientist couldn’t figure out given she showed no unnatural abilities even though her file described differently nothing was ever found in the blood work and she was deemed useless

It did come as a surprise Sack’s had never thrown her out in the hunt, instead, upon seeing the caring nature towards other children as she protected them from the guards and how calm she made them he had named the child a caregiver for the younger mutants until they were taken away

This had also including the first four test subjects Sack’s had ever created, four small turtle boys she had grown fond of the first time they were thrown in the enclosure by the scary metal man that had loomed in the labs a few times, instantly she was very overprotective the moment she saw each of them and the first to show them any form kindness; they had formed a bond to her much like a mother out of all the young ones they latched onto her the most and were the four of five hardest to get away from her

What the boss might not have counted on was the oldest girl becoming extremely protective of each child that ever came into her care while in those walls

Guards feared going in to drag kids out for the experiments and for good reason knowing the tales behind the strange female child

The stories from the older guards told of many having lost teeth, being attacked to such severity they were rushed to the medical ward in critical condition, one had been stabbed with an unknown object thirty-nine times before backup could get to him, she had broken bones and dislocated limbs without blinking, and one had lost his finger daring to grab her Luna without containing the girl properly after taunting her through the bars

For years they survived only trusting one another teaching each other to talk when the guards weren’t at their post; learning secret languages they made up for when they needed to communicate and it wasn’t safe but sadly most kids that came in didn’t live long enough to even get a nickname much less learn anything but then again the ones who didn’t make it were the lucky ones

She yanked out of her flashback as a heavy fist hit the door hard “AY! Yer ass better be up an movin!” the deep baritone that followed sent shivers down her spine pulling a smile across her lips shocked that he actually sounded like he was in a good mood today tapping on the wood counter hard as she brushed her teeth not willing to jinx it

She changed her clothes as the images drifted through her mind before shaking them off fast and for good not wanting to upset the others, she brushed her hair back with her fingers on top of her head into a messy bun not feeling like brushing it out before heading down just as she heard the door at the end of the hall creak able to feel the heat of his glare even through the walls

He most certainly wasn’t jumping on the bed and trapping her under him today just because she didn’t feel like moving after the first two warnings – he was getting too heavy to do it anyway and next time if he didn’t crush her; the bed frame might just snap if it didn’t straight up fall through the floor

He was back in the room the second she opened her door loud music blasting just barely covered the sounds of his fist torturing his burlap sand bag as she heading down the stairs to help with food still a bit groggy swearing it was too damn early but knew it was probably close to noon if not later

“Morning crazy people who get up too damn early-” the woman smiled seeing the two youngest of the guys in the kitchen kissing the genius turtle’s cheek while stealing his coffee before he noticed ignoring his sassy comment that some of them had work to finish, heading towards the turtle at the stove she had a moment to take in his shell reflecting the beautiful hints of orange mixed into the mahogany-colored plates as the sun floated through the open window dancing to some song on the makeshift radio she had left on the counter last night before coming up hugging him from the side “Morning sunshine~”

In the last fifteen years all of them had shot past her leaving her the shortest and by far the smallest of the strange family even though she was almost two years older then the eldest, nuzzling at his neck in hopes maybe he had saved her some coffee before the inventor of the family had come up from his room

She was instantly overtaken by affection; squealing happily as he captured her into a tight hug giggling when the smallest turtle kissed all over her face still cooking with one hand without looking

Years of practice put to good use

“Finally – god since when do you sleep in! The day is practically gone!” his energy was already a bit much to deal with so early but she smiled knowing once they had eaten the levels were going to hit the roof between the four men “I made your favorite”

He wasn’t kidding the turtle had gone all out and made her favorite chocolate chip pancakes and bacon wondering what the special occasion was but wouldn’t question it because honestly, she loved when he made her pancakes

A quick look at the calendar revealed why they were being nicer today

It was fifteen years ago today that she got them out

None of them liked to think on the past but Mikey spoiled her and his brothers every year, squealing excitedly the woman kissing his cheek hugging him tight “You’re the best Mikey – tell me you didn’t forget-?” he held up a small glass jar of fresh syrup that he made that morning seeing her bounce around stealing another kiss and a thick slice of the flavorful meat from the smokehouse moaning in absolute joy before almost jumping out of her skin as a rough deeper tone filled the kitchen with a light chuckle behind her placing a heavy limb on top of her head using her as an armrest while looking at the setup swatting at the largest male even as he chuckled “You know I hate that! Knock it off before you snap my neck-!”

“But yer perfect height pipsqueak” she growled at him getting one back playfully from the turtle towering over her trying to pick up his arm before the eldest was there fresh out the shower moving Raph’s arm to the side for her rolling his eyes at the biggest turtles actions while pecking her forehead as she grabbed the food taking it to the table

The taller of the turtles placed his stuff on the smaller dinner tray before anyone could tell him to do so looking around when he reached for his purple mug; gasping at her as she sipped his coffee while grinning behind his cup not seeing his disapproving look dissipated upon noticing she looked a bit more exhausted than usual

“Daenery-?” her head shot up seeing all of them watching her but before he could ask she waved him off

It wasn’t abnormal for her to look tired but she had slept in they thought she would have looked more – alive

“I’m fine brainiac” she pulled a wad of cash out of the pocket of the pants she had been wearing for a few days dropping it on the table for him to add to the rest then pointing out the window showing the two huge stags hanging from the tree out back over the buckets downing the piping hot coffee fast

Leo chuckled seeing she had gotten a head start before seeing her light up happy for the fresh cup placed in front of her before winning Donnie’s mug back from the tight grasp giving it back after pouring him another full cup “Got in late from Mrs. Malone’s place after fixing the back fence again, huh?”

From time to time the young woman worked for Mary Malone, an elderly woman five miles away on her ranch after her son had left to join the military caring for her place and getting her groceries if needed to bring in any money to run them even buying a pig from her every spring never having the heart to actually do the deed of butchering them since she formed a soft spot for her animals

“Yeah - you four were out cold so - went hunting to wear me down plus we needed to restock the deep freeze anyway.” she rubbed her head trying to rid it of the migraine that kept sneaking up on her this week knowing the work orders would be piling up soon as the weather started to cool more “Oh hothead, David wants five orders of the jerky when you get it ready he’s willing to pay double if you make it same as last month and some ‘purtty little thang’ can deliver by the end of the week… I’m sending Mikey I can’t do another marriage proposal-”

The others tried not to laugh at her terrible accent but knew what she meant given old man David Prods asked her every chance he got to be his new wife and he was getting more persistent each time he saw her even if it was clear he loved his late significant other “You can’t send him and you know it”

Giving Leo a slight glare she practically stuffed half of the stack of pancakes in her mouth humming out a half-assed argument that got no response while looking out the window, she was going to enjoy the food before she hit the chores list hoping she could knock at least part of it out before tonight

All of this time up here had defiantly changed all of them for the best, the guys had flourished in the outside world finally getting real names after searching the encrypted files saved to the flash drive Chelsea had in her bag during the escape, and the fresh air had only seemed to help them grow to the incredible size they had gotten to in the past few years

They had found the safest location after getting away from Sack’s building and having no plans in going back they had made it home, it took a few years of living out the van but they never complained having been cared for the best the two females could do on the run before they stumbled across the cabin – there were a few things that needed to be fixed before it was livable being incredibly run down but over the years it was made into home

Their shelter was well hidden in the middle of nowhere camouflaged by the trees and the freshly painted roof they redid every six months made it to look like foliage from both above or the ground, it was practically inaccessible to human’s without the remote to the metal bridge made to sink into the bank and far from the city meaning it wasn’t anywhere near the outbreak

Sure it wasn’t easy being here by any means but compared to the way they grew up it was an upgrade

Much like in the labs they depended on her to get everything they needed to survive given she was the only human since Beth died eight years ago in an accident leaving a massive hole in the family driving Luca to move further up the mountain unable to handle living there without her

Here it was much easier to survive and death was nothing new to them but the woman’s death had been too much

It had been hard at first but slowly the roles reversed in their teenage years leaning on the males a bit more after they came into their own, they had to team hunt for meat to sustain them or struggle with fishing when the herds were moving out for the winter if they ran out like last year

Raph with the help of Luca; the mutant wolf hybrid that escaped with them had built onto the cabin up over the years any of the heavier jobs were done by the biggest turtle’s hands. Any furniture, building’s, even the cabinets in the kitchen had been carved out from the large trees around the property he truly was creative in his mastered skills

Dea was still amazed by the work he had put into the fireplace once the back wall had been taken out one summer after the storms; each of the mud bricks placed with care remembering with clarity how pissed he had been trying to get the design just right for the chimney but when lit it warmed the place greatly even on the worst winter nights

Donnie being the little child genius he was known for inside the institute had created the perfect cloaking device shielding anything that could spot their home just in case Sack’s ever tried to find them; he had them completely off the grid and a natural well they dug out provided the water to the cabin keeping them all comfortable over the years

His craft knew no limits

Mikey of course was the main cook of the group besides her, he had taken to it as a little kid loving looking through a torn-up cookbook that had been inside the home and although some of the meals were strange they were always delicious

Beth had taught all of them anything she thought they would need to know for surviving outside the hellish prison having grown up on a farm in Missouri, cooking anything to keep them from starving had been at the top of the list and – they all managed pretty well she mostly helped on Leo’s nights just to be sure the food poisoning scourge of 2008 never happened again and although he had greatly improved since he was thirteen they all gave him a hard time for giggles

But the oldest of the turtle’s skills lay in something only somebody with a strong stomach or no real emotion towards butchering could enjoy without complaint and it was easy to trade out with him given she and Raph tended to the meat once he was done

It was also a deadly skill he had picked up in Sack’s torture experiments given he was too precious to risk putting in the yard with the slayers he was locked in a room with older subjects and given a weapon; three days in there fighting for his life as punishment and he had never been the same kid she knew taking years just to see him smile again

Leo was a god with a blade of any kind able to make the cleanest trims and most precise cuts with the kills they managed to bring home it was weird but it seemed to relax him, although he was against killing others if it was to provide for his family he could easily fillet a rabbit or a deer after Mikey had put a no-touch rule on his chickens

Today she would be helping him with the bucks after tending to the garden going to start canning the remainder of preserves they needed in the storage cabinet and pantry, she also needing the entrails for a personal task and not wanting him to forget again like last week today was actually perfect to start prepping the fur and hides for later when she would be making them warmer garments

They were halfway through eating when her eyes landed on the fridge seeing the two full lists Leo had to have made the night prior with everything they needed to stock up the pantry and at this point she had stopped eating lost in her head, there was still so much to get done in the next few weeks

Since she couldn’t just go out and get a job in one of the shops in town like a normal person seeing as her odd appearance was noticeable her and the guys made goods from hand and she sold it in one of the closest three towns during the market

Raph’s carved sculptures and hand-knitted winter sets and blankets were always a big hit much like Mikey’s wood art paintings around the holidays, Leo had the knack for making candles or nature-inspired dream catchers with little treasures he found on his walks while the mastermind of the family liked to make odd metal creations and wooden jewelry boxes spending hours just to be sure each was unique and one of a kind

She was more into sewing making rag dolls, teddy bears, purses, and wallets from old clothes or random fabrics, and although her stuff wasn’t as big of a seller her baked goods more than made up for that

The world had shut down closer to the cities where the outbreaks were more abundant given containment hadn’t been key in the beginning it had spread in the bigger parts of the country but this far out people hadn’t heard of it since the months after the attack had initially happened so if she acted like a young adult around people nobody questioned the odd color of her hair or pale complexion

She was curling one of the silvery pieces that had slipped free of her bun as one of the guys asked her a question the room falling silent before somebody else called her name but she didn’t hear them remembering fondly the week before the first time she had ever had to go out alone and although she had tried to dye her hair every color possible to cover the weird silvery color nothing had ever taken; Donnie had tried his best to explain it was because her hair might not have had any melanin but she still didn’t understand

A set of green fingers snapping in front of her face snapped her back to reality before her head was being felt by Donnie touching his hand in question as her eyes clearing to see her family looking at her with concern

It was then she realized the cup of coffee she was holding had frosted over and the dark beverage within had turned to solid ice

“Maybe you should take the day off to just relax” Leo sounded more like he was telling her she was going to rather than proposing a question but she just smiled shaking her head it had been a while since she was so out of it she froze something

Actually, it had been close to ten long years since she had done it unintentionally

She held the cup up breathing out a small blue flame that melted the contents fast making it bubble within the mug before taking a long drink “I told you dorks, I’m fine – just thinking of…” she looked at her plate in a way that was easy to read before smiling as she finished her cold breakfast taking the dishes to the sink; finishing her coffee on the way

“Dea”

She still didn’t respond grabbing the last piece of bacon out of Raph’s hand before he could take a bite kissing each of them in a sweet gesture feeling the biggest turtle holding her hand in his looking up at the woman in concern “It’s nothing... I got dishes today, just leave them there I’ll be in later – if you four need me I’ll be in the garden with Luna. Love you!”

She was out the door with her bandana and gloves before any of the males could say a word.

[alternate-pokemon-next-gen]

Alternate Next Gen (Frontier Brains): Clarice and Cole Onion

Clarice and Cole are the twin children of Acerola and Allister. Clarice and Cole both have a soft spot for Ghost type Pokemon as both of their parents specialize in Ghost type Pokemon, they both felt close to Ghost types and decided that they would train to be Ghost type specialists like their parents. As the two of them are always seen together, they always partake in a double battle and they both work off of each other to the point they’ve been practically unbeatable. They both heard about a new Frontier facility open up and they both wanted to join, Lazarus was happy to let them both in and battle together. Clarice is the older twin, she has more of Allister’s personality, being very shy and fearful of others preferring to be by herself, with her twin brother or with her Pokemon. She’s starting to come out of her shell after being with her fellow Frontier Brains but she’s still as reserved as her father when it comes to being with other people. Cole is the younger twin, he takes more after Acerola when it comes to her personality, he’s friendly and is happy when he’s near kids younger than him. Cole also has a bit of a mischief side, he enjoys playing pranks with his Ghost Pokemon and with his sister. Clarice joins in for fun, both of them enjoys scaring others, especially anyone who challenges them to a battle. Cole is the one who plans the scares while Clarice executes the scare with their Pokemon, they both find great enjoyment in being with Ghost types and with each other. Clarice and Cole are very close to each other, rarely getting into an argument and they rarely fight with each other despite how different their personalities are. There are rumors that the two of them can talk through telepathy but those rumors haven’t been confirmed or denied by the twins, they are however, used to being around anything supernatural and rarely are surprised when something supernatural happens to them.

Clarice has a purple Z-Power Ring and Cole has a black Z-Ring. They both have Ghostium Z and Darkinium Z, Clarice also has Mimikium Z.

Clarice’s Pokemon:

Gourgeist- Gourgeist was originally Cole’s Pokemon but as Clarice wanted to have a Gourgeist, she had traded her Phantump for Cole’s Pumpkaboo which made both of them evolve under the care of their new trainers. Gourgeist is very shy much like her trainer, she also hates how people will think she’ll try to lead them into the spirit world when she has never done something like that before. Gourgeist is also very mischievous, she’ll often join in her trainer’s plan to give their opponents a scare by singing an eerie song and flashing the light on her stomach to scare them, she can also change the facial expression of the face on her stomach however she wants which adds to her scare factor. Gourgeist is the older sister of Cole’s Trevenant, she’s very protective of him and will always make sure he’s okay during a battle. The two of them were very happy when they were caught by twin siblings so they could stay together. Despite Cole not being her trainer anymore, she still enjoys being in his company and spending time with him and his sister. Gourgeist is Super Sized and mostly relies on various tricks during battle.

Caught in a Dusk Ball.

Ability is Frisk.

Moves are Phantom Force, Mystical Fire, Power Whip, Destiny Bond, Nasty Plot, Hex, Trick Room, Double Team, Seed Bomb and Confuse Ray.

Alolan Marowak- Clarice had caught her Alolan Marowak after he had evolved and while she was in the Alola region with her family, she had trained with him to help him evolve into an Alolan Marowak at night. As a Cubone, he was very lonely and would always cry when he was afraid or if Clarice wasn’t with him. Clarice had comforted him a lot when he was a Cubone, making her the only person he was close to and wouldn’t cry near. After he had gotten more comfortable with training and battling, he had opened up and had become more independent than when he was first found by Clarice. He had evolved at night while they were in the Alola region, despite having the chance to leave and take care of himself he instead wanted to stay with Clarice as she had trained and raised him when he was still a Cubone, Clarice agreed and caught him. Marowak is a loyal and brave Pokemon, he always makes sure to protect his trainer from harm as a thank you for how much he helped him when he was still young. Marowak is also a bit possessive over Clarice, which was something that first occurred when he was a Cubone as he didn’t want his “mama’s” attention away from him and while he wasn’t as bad as when he was younger, he still has traits of being possessive when he sees a boy talking or flirting with Clarice and he will quickly whack the boy over the head with his club. Marowak’s battle style has him rely on using his bone to block attacks as well as using fire dancing to dodge attacks, making him unpredictable.

Caught in a Dusk Ball.

Ability is Cursed Body.

Held Item is a Thick Club.

Moves are Shadow Bone, Will-O-Wisp, Bone Rush, Flame Wheel, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Shadow Ball, Brutal Swing, Focus Blast and Flare Blitz.

Mimikyu- Clarice caught Mimikyu after she had completed her mother’s trial, she found Mimikyu on a shelf and mistook him for a plush toy but was happy to have him either way and managed to catch him. Mimikyu is very shy when it comes to meeting others, he only really warmed up to his trainer and his trainer’s family as they all were nice to him and they understood him. Mimikyu enjoys sewing in his free time and will often make different disguises for himself instead of just Pikachu, he’s always happy when his costumes are complimented by others by how well made they are. Mimikyu does have a very bad temper that comes up when someone breaks the neck of any of the costume he makes and he gets even more upset when the costumes he works hard on rips while he’s in a battle, he’ll often wear a replacement costume until the ripped one is fixed by his trainer. Despite what many people think, Mimikyu gets along with Lazarus’ Pikachu and the two of them are very close friends and there’s no bad blood between them, the two of them even train together when they aren’t busy. Mimikyu doesn’t have much of a plan when it comes to battling, but he does try to be as sneaky as possible when it comes to battling against anyone else.

Caught in a Dusk Ball.

Ability is Disguise.

Moves are Double Team, Shadow Sneak, Play Rough, Shadow Claw, Drain Punch, Phantom Force, Thunderbolt, Copycat, Dazzling Gleam and Hone Claws. 

Cole’s Pokemon:

Trevenant- Trevenant was originally Clarice’s Pokemon but as Cole wanted to have a Trevenant, he had traded his Pumpkaboo for Clarice’s Phantump which made them both evolve under the care of their new trainers. Trevenant is a sweetheart despite how he looks intimidating, he has a childlike wonder about him that was there when he was a Phantump. Trevenant is kind to Pokemon that dwell in forests and actively gives them any berries he grows or finds while he’s on a walk, he also is very protective of forests and will protect them even if he gets injured or burned in the process. Despite how kind he can be, he still enjoys playing pranks on people with his trainer and will often use his ability to control plants and roots to give people a scare, especially if someone is threatening the forest. Trevenant is the younger brother of Clarice’s Gourgeist, he’s very protective of her and will always make sure she’s okay during a battle. The two of them were very happy when they were caught by twin siblings so they could stay together. Despite Clarice not being his trainer anymore, he still enjoys being in her company and spending time with her and her brother. Trevenant mostly relies on his strong attack as well as moves to stall his opponents while he’s battling, he also figured out how to counter Fire types by using Will-O-Wisp to absorb the Fire type energy.

Caught in a Dusk Ball.

Ability is Frisk.

Moves are Will-O-Wisp, Leech Seed, Shadow Claw, Horn Leech, Destiny Bond, Phantom Force, Ingrain, Rock Slide, X-Scissor and Giga Impact.

Cursola- Cole had caught his Cursola when she was a Corsola. Cole had spotted his Galarian Corsola while he was in Galar with his family, he found her to be cute and managed to catch her. As a Corsola, Cursola was very shy when she was spotted by others as she thought that people would freak out if they saw how she looked. When she saw that Cole wasn’t freaked out by her appearance she was happy that he liked her and caught her. During her time with Cole, she would do her best to train with him and his other Pokemon. She does often miss how she looked when she was a normal Corsola but after being with Cole long enough she had grown to accept herself in her new form which is how she managed to evolve into Cursola. As a Cursola, she no longer cares what others think of her and is happy to battle for her trainer who cares for and loves her. Does her best during battle and is happy when she manages to win for her trainer, she works well with everyone on Clarice’s team and is glad when she’s partnered with one of them. Cursola relies on her special moves as well as using Reflect and Harden to boost her defense and weakening her opponent’s attack with Strength Sap.

Caught in a Dusk Ball.

Ability is Perish Body.

Moves are Ancient Power, Curse, Strength Sap, Mirror Coat, Reflect, Harden, Giga Drain, Shadow Ball, Hex and Meteor Beam.

Golett- Cole caught Golett when he was on a walk with his sister. Golett had let himself be caught by Cole as he was looking for a trainer but most people had passed him up for a different Pokemon so he was happy when Cole had sent out his Trevenant to battle him and was happy to be caught by Cole. Golett is an easy going Pokemon that’s okay with pretty much anything that happens around him, he’s also eager to please and he does his best in battle so that he could earn his stay with Cole. Deep down he’s worried that if he doesn’t do his best in Cole’s eyes, he’s going to get released and replaced by another Ghost type so he takes a lot of time to train himself to be as strong as he can as a Golett. Golett doesn’t like the thought of evolving as he wants to be strong as he is, he also doesn’t want to be as tall as his evolved form is as he’s afraid he could accidentally hurt his trainer and his trainer’s sister, so he holds onto an Everstone to keep himself from evolving. Golett’s battle strategy is to use various punching moves as they get boosted by his ability.

Caught in a Dusk Ball.

Ability is Iron Fist.

Moves are Shadow Punch, Rock Polish, Focus Punch, Stomping Tantrum, Fire Punch, Thunder Punch, Phantom Force, Heavy Slam, Iron Defense and Mega Punch.

[madamhatter]

Witch of the Cosmos: Overview 3

Follow up post to Witch of the Cosmos: Overview 2. Goes into specific plot used for amnesiac!Kohaku and most likely outcome for Sophie. It’s absolutely wild that this was planned two years ago by myself and I am just letting it ALL out.

Kohaku’s contract exchanges his immortality and immortal memories for his chance to live as a mortal with mortal memories (though, the sorceress might’ve not fabricated them for her amusement). He specifically did this out of the reason of love -- something that moves her, for she cannot feel it anymore the way he does. Which is why she’s relatively kinder for this deal. 

Kohaku, the mortal, is ejected out of the spirit realm and immediately into current day Japan. His particular coordinates will have him landed by the remains of the very river he was the god for.  As for a status of the river, here’s the Sorceress explaining it: 

“What remains of your home is true, Kohaku.” A muttered truth, somberness heavy on each word coming from her lips. “The river is now a part of a metropolitan area – that apartment complex is only one of the many homes that belong to a city. Far bigger than any village you’ve seen.” Alas, the sorceress withholds further explanation, further detail of how the river was drained, how the carcass of the river was leveled and filled by concrete, how the life in the river beds was left homeless, and how nature struggles to move elsewhere to recover from the human spread. Yet, no matter what, humanity will continue its move, soon to corner nature, and the latter may be no more if they aren’t careful.  - CONTRACT.

The sorceress arranged for a particular date and time, manipulating around some events at her leisure to make a chance encounter possible. Why? If only to meet the one mortal the sorceress could trust with a former deity whose pride and tact will remain true to his spirit: Sophie.

The sorceress is confident that much like her mortal self’s spite, tenacity, and unyielding nature, her empathy and compassion are universal. She knows that her mortal self’s compassion would always take to nurture and protect someone. It’s what makes her human -  that selfishness to always wanting to help, to defy, to do by what her heart yearns for. 

So, in these arrangements, Kohaku is under Sophie’s watch and employment at her pop-up shop in Tokyo. This still follows modern!Sophie where she is a CEO/heiress and worked at age 13 to rebuild the company after her father’s lies and debts almost ruined the family’s chances. In this case, this is Sophie particularly when she’s deciding her own fate because she, again, she is one who wants to break fate. 

Sophie is 20, Kohaku is 16. Sophie still moms Kohaku and is very protective of him and will treat him like he’s family (a mix of younger sibling-child, which is similar to the relationship between Sophie and her sisters). 

Sophie the human is unaware of everything going on. So, she’s not aware of the strings being pulled by her remnants. (Basically, sorceress is manipulating very particular and is using her mortal self as a beacon for a reason).

This Sophie does have her actual magic (in its earliest stages) and it is very unknown to her. Supernatural exists in this verse, but it works on Ghibli dynamics (aka not in your face and is there if you look hard enough). -- This works basically like the postmodern witchaholic verse (minus this entire plot). This is important.

While all is said and done, and seen as a good favor made by the sorceress, this is simply not the case. It’s unwise to doubt deception and strategy in any form of Sophie -- even if it’s only the remains of her magic.

The sorceress, despite her great powers and status,  has been plateaued in her potential. She is only Sophie’s magic given life. All these great feats and growth was done when it was Sophie the sorceress. She could’ve reached greater limits, but she is stuck without the synthesizer -- the soul.

So, the sorceress saw opportunity when Kohaku approaches, arranges everything, with an ulterior motive. To take over Sophie.

After all, Sophie’s been described as the “host” and feeling empty and unsure isn’t a particularly kind and eventful existence. The magic wants to return back to its soul and be able to reunite with it and be able to grow from there.

( So, a Sophie who hasn’t reached this level is still at a greater advantage than the sorceress ). 

This is, admittedly, dark and terrifying by the ways that Sophie and the sorceress cannot be in close proximity of another for long. The sorceress has already been creeping and lurking over Sophie, sometimes bleeding into her dreams, her true form and its hundreds and hundreds of years of memories, knowledge, and suffering is not exactly rated safe for mortal minds.

Any mortal Sophie in Witch of Cosmos (WoC) plots will have strange dreams, feelings of dejavu, and all that good stuff w/o getting what’s going on. 

Like in the first post, the sorceress can drag you into her realm, but she is patient and awaits. She can arrange the time and date for it. But, for Sophie, she needs the right moment, the right time when Sophie recognizes her power and gets to that point.

It’s like waiting for fruit and needing it to be ripe (IE: Sophie’s hair should be completely silver-white, not dyed anymore ; has gained certain recognition of her strength ; made contact with a supernatural entity ( demon, god, etc. )  Kohaku doesn’t count as he’s a squishy mortal atm ) 

And what will happen then the sorceress takes over? Sophie’s magic is synchronized to the sorceress’s and it means she is at a state that reflects 600~ years of existence. Sophie does not have all access to memories. 

She is in a heavy foggy state of mind when it happens and some thing feels very, very off about her. 

And else ...? Well. That’s yet to be discovered.

And the sorceress does not ever enjoying spoiling the fun.  

Some cool shit I thought of that the sorceress (and Sophie the sorceress) can do (and other stuff) *To differentiate, I will be using WoC!Sophie to reference this particular version.

Can switch places with another version of herself where magic exists (so not appearing in ANY slice-of-life situations). It just means pulling out the other, leaving her suspended in animation and ‘sleeping.’ The swap can happen as quickly and it will BE the rare times these two can meet, though temporarily.

^ When she does this, WoC!Sophie will change her appearance to look like whichever way that Sophie does.  ^^ WoC!Sophie can possess another version of Sophie. WoC!Sophie’s body will be in forced suspension like when she switches with other versions of Sophie. WoC!Sophie takes over the body momentarily and the other Sophie is in the other body, but that version is also knocked out. WoC!Sophie does this for only very specific circumstances.

Another version of Sophie and WoC!Sophie can actually meet and talk to another; it is best for them to do in the places the sorceress can control/has created. 

Both ideas were scrapped in a subplot when I was originally figuring out how to get into Topaxi and add a ‘secret intruder’ in. Found that idea boring b/c Topaxi!Sophie has her own things going on ( + while WoC!Sophie is literally in exile and can match up with lots of themes, this is a little too much to pack into an already awesome and dense group verse ). 

Sophie does not need to be WoC!Sophie to reach this power. She does not need to undergo the same events to even have this form unable to age and stuff. Sophie’s magic naturally changes everything and anything, including herself. 

WoC!Sophie doesn’t always appear as older since she changes form. 

[esonetwork]

Timestamp #214: The Vampires of Venice

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/timestamp-214-the-vampires-of-venice/

Timestamp #214: The Vampires of Venice

Doctor Who: The Vampires of Venice (1 episode, s05e06, 2010)

There’s something fishy in the waters of Venice.

Meanwhile in the TARDIS, Part II

The Doctor gets Amy back into the TARDIS where she continues trying to seduce him. While he tries to work the console, proclaiming to be a mix between Gandalf and Yoda, Amy points out just how much a a typical guy he is.

The Doctor tells her that he just can’t see it anymore. He’s lost the wonder. Everything is just… stuff. He wants Amy to help open his eyes to the wonders again.

Amy takes this as a clue that she’s not the first companion. When she asks how many of them were girls, the Doctor dances around the question, so Amy brings up the visual records with a little trick. The TARDIS obliges, showing her only the women who have traveled with the Doctor.

The Doctor decides to go find Rory, who is at his bachelor party.

The Vampires of Venice

In Venice, 1580, Guido presents his teenage daughter Isabella to Rosanna Calvierri and her son, Francesco. Isabella is seeking entrance to Rosanna’s school, and when it is granted, Rosanna takes the young woman promptly.

As Guido leaves the room, Isabella is inspected before Francesco reveals himself as a vampire.

Four centuries in the future, Rory is enjoying his bachelor party until the Doctor pops out of a cake instead of the expected stripper. The Doctor reveals that Amy tried to kiss him, but it’s okay because she is a great kisser.

It sounded better in his head, you know.

Some time later, the Doctor is working on the TARDIS console as he offers relationship advice to the young couple. He also offers to take them to any location so they can get away together. He decides on Venice, a bit perturbed that Rory understands the “bigger on the inside” concept.

He goes on for a spell about the founding and history of Venice, including a note to avoid Casanova, before running into a guard who asks for traveling credentials in an attempt to stop the plague. The travelers use the psychic paper to bypass the checkpoint – Rory is apparently the Doctor’s eunuch – before running into Guido and learning about Isabella’s plight.

In the school’s courtyard, Francesco tries to convince his mother that they have more than enough converts, but she’s not convinced at all. He later trawls the streets looking for another victim. The subsequent screams draw Amy and Rory. After spotting the vampire fangs, Amy gives chase.

The Doctor breaks into the school and encounters a group of female vampires, impressed by their lack of reflections. They ask who he is and he shows them a library card, so they vamp out to chase him away. He runs into Amy and Rory. Amy and the Doctor are excited about the vampires, but Rory is appalled.

Amy and the Doctor strategize with Guido on how to get into the school undercover. The Doctor and Rory argue that Amy shouldn’t be the one to go in, but she spins an elaborate cover story. Rory does not like the idea of the Doctor posing as her fiancé, so Amy and Rory pose as siblings to gain Rosanna’s favor. One flash of the psychic paper later and Amy’s matriculated.

She soon finds Isabella and learns about being strapped to a chair for a procedure that she cannot remember. All she knows is that the sunlight now burns her skin. As Amy looks for a way in for her traveling companions, Guido (in Rory’s stag party shirt) takes the Doctor and an apprehensive Rory to meet her.

They talk about Amy’s relationship with the Doctor while the Time Lord shows off his huge UV light. Rory challenges the Doctor about his attitude that makes people take risks to impress him. They also discover a corpse that it completely drained of all fluids before being ambushed.

Amy gets captured and taken to Rosanna where she is confronted about the psychic paper. Amy is strapped down and bitten by Rosanna. The headmistress explains that they drink the girls dry and replace their blood with that of their own kind. Amy kicks Rosanna, exposing a perception filter and the vampire’s true nature.

Yep, they’re aliens.

Isabella rescues Amy and the travelers escape into the sunlight. The Doctor tries to go back for Isabella but is attacked by an electric shock. As the morning continues on, Isabella is forced into the canal behind the school where she is eaten alive by the males of the species who are hiding beneath the water’s surface.

Rosanna returns to her throne room to find the Doctor waiting for her. He has deduced she is from Saturnyne. She’s using a perception filter to appear human and they share a common identity as alien refugees. Rosanna’s planet was consumed by the cracks in time, and while fleeing the Silence, they ended up on Earth. Rosanna asks for the Doctor’s help in rebuilding her species, but he only wants to know what happened to Isabella. Rosanna disavows Isabella, remarking only that all traitors must be killed. As the Time Lord is escorted out, he shouts that he will stop her. If only because she didn’t know Isabella’s name.

With a malfunctioning perception filter, Rosanna assembles her girls in the courtyard and prepares to wage war. Meanwhile, the Doctor reunites with Guido and his traveling companions and hashes out Rosanna’s plan. He deduces that she plans to sink Venice and give rise to a new Saturnyne.

The “vampires” pick that moment to assault Guido’s home, forcing the heroes to flee. Guido commandeers the UV light and locks himself inside, luring the girls to his gunpowder stash which he uses to destroy the invaders at the expense of his own life.

As Rosanna begins her plan, the Doctor forces Amy to return to the TARDIS. Rory thanks the Doctor and pursues her as the Time Lord returns to the school and tries to stop Rosanna’s machine. He finds it deadlock sealed, but even the news that her daughters are dead doesn’t dissuade the headmistress.

Rory and Amy find a detour in Francesco. Rory fights him while Amy uses her compact mirror to disintegrate the alien in a burst of sunlight. Amy kisses Rory in celebration before they both rush off to help the Doctor.

The Time Lord is miffed about Rory’s change of heart, but he soon leaves them in charge of dismantling the throne as he ascends the bell tower after Rosanna. He ascends to the spire and stops the weather machine before finding Rosanna on the canal’s edge.

The matriarch’s perception filter has failed, locking her in her human form. She prepares to dive to her death, and as the Doctor rushes to stop her, she tells him that he’ll have to live with the death of her species on his conscience. She then jumps into the water and is consumed.

The Doctor, Amy, and Rory return to the TARDIS. Seeing Amy’s excitement and her apprehension about the wedding, Rory offers to break off their engagement. Amy replies that he should travel with them, and the Doctor agrees.

As they are about to leave, silence falls around the Doctor, an omen of the darkness still surrounding them.

This is a tough story to consider. On the one hand, the story is quite average with a small connection to the ongoing thread about the Doctor being the last of his kind. This story would have played well in the Tennant era which leaned heavily on the Doctor pledging to prevent another such genocide. It also plays well here, both as a counterbalance to Matt Smith’s portrayal of a younger, hip, almost laissez-faire Doctor and as a fulfillment of his promise to never be cowardly or cruel, and to never give up or give in.

On the other hand, we have some great (and tough to handle) character development with this twisted triangle. As much as I despise the attempted seduction of the Doctor by Amy, it opens the door to some dramatic friction. Amy’s attracted to the Doctor, but the Doctor isn’t interested in her. Rory loves Amy and she seems to love him, but she’s not quite ready to settle down. The Doctor’s interests reside with unraveling the mysteries surrounding these two while helping them to find each other.

But the biggest source of friction is how poorly Amy treats Rory. She seems irritated that the Doctor brought him in, but seems excited to be with Rory on a wedding-gift vacation. It all comes back to the Doctor, however, because they are there purely because of time travel and Amy immediately gravitates back to the adventure instead of guiding and mentoring her future husband.

Let’s be frank: Rory needs reassurance about their relationship and Amy is either ignorant or reluctant to provide it. She’s not holding up her end of the Pond-Williams team and effectively leaving Rory alone in the storm roiling around them.

I wish that she would treat Rory better because I really love the chemistry between Karen Gillan and Matt Smith, but that amazing connectivity is blunted by Amy’s disregard for Rory, who seems to be a really sharp and grounded character.

I loved a lot of the mythology touches throughout the episode, from the First Doctor library card to the Doctor’s continued fear of heights. A closer look at the library card reveals that it was issued to “Dr. J. Smith”, continuing the John Smith alias into the Hartnell era, and was registered to 76 Totter’s Lane in Shoreditch, London. The story also swerved into meta territory with the jokes about Casanova, which touches on both David Tennant and guest star Helen McCrory.

We also cannot forget that the Doctor has plenty of experience with vampires and blood-drinkers, including State of Decay, The Curse of Fenric, and Smith and Jones.

I bounced back and forth for a while on the score for this one, but finally settled on my modus operandi of rounding up.

Rating: 4/5 – “Would you care for a jelly baby?”

UP NEXT – Doctor Who: Amy’s Choice

The Timestamps Project is an adventure through the televised universe of Doctor Who, story by story, from the beginning of the franchise. For more reviews like this one, please visit the project’s page at Creative Criticality.

[yourcoolfriendwithallthecandy]

The Willow Maid Part 2

Thank you to @waiting4inspiration​ for hosting another challenge where we take myths and legends and do fun things with them, like what I’m trying to do here. @inforapound​ wanted to be tagged too. Those who read the Bible, will find references that I honestly am not trying to be sacreligious or offensive or anything, I’m trying to have some harmless fun here and provide entertainment as I mash so many things into one and connect dots here. 

Ha. Anyway, enjoy. 

The Willow Maid

Part 2

When Floki woke up again, the willow maid had returned with a bowl of stew, some bread and some more tea for him to drink. 

“Thank you Rayth.” He thanked her graciously, as he took the wooden platter and settled it over his lap before he dug into the spread as he couldn’t help but stare at her. She was so beautiful and eerily perfect, which he mused a goddess should be, it was a little unnerving to look at her but the more he did, the more he felt at peace because he could sense that she meant him no harm, only good. 

“So what are you a goddess of?” Floki asked. “Protection?” He guessed. 

“I suppose, if you say so.” Rayth nodded in agreement. 

“How would you like to be worshiped?” Floki asked and Rayth had to think about that for a moment. 

“By being kind and respectful to the women and children in your life.” Rayth answered. 

“Are there more like you?” Floki asked. 

“Yes, when I agreed to look after you, my sisters who have shown themselves to you told me that you were special and worth saving.” Rayth answered. 

“The bee woman and the raven woman?” Floki remembered. 

“Yes, among others.” Rayth nodded. 

“Is this the World Tree?” Floki asked. 

“It is, and you are the first son of Adam to be welcomed into it since the great flood, it is connected to all the other trees in the world, any fruits that can be found on trees, even bushes and shrubs can be found in it. And in some areas, we bring other plants like root vegetables and vines and grains and of course some animals get left at other trees as offerings, so I keep them, the chickens eat the bugs in the tree, that's where we get the eggs, the goats eat the excess foliage so I get my milk and cheese from them. 

“So no meat other than the eggs?” Floki asked. 

“No, men have only ever wanted meat after the great flood, neither I or my sisters crave it, but if you do, I can check the other alters for an animal sacrifice.” Rayth answered. 

“Do you not take pleasure in them?” He asked. 

“Me personally? No, some of my brothers and sisters do though, I personally think animals are more useful alive than dead but my siblings would argue that there is nothing like life blood because it’s been set as sacred since the beginning of time and they take pleasure in it, but I do not. I think there has been too much death in the world already, no use in adding to it.” Rayth shook her head no. 

“You keep calling me a son of Adam, who is Adam?” Floki questioned. 

“Who do you call the father to all?” Rayth returned. 

“Odin.” Floki answered. 

“Ah, then, you are Floki- son of Odin then. I realize that names change with time as do languages. I remember when there was only one language in the whole world, but my own grandfather put a stop to that.” Rayth recalled. 

“Who is your grandfather?” Floki asked. 

“You would not know his name, since he has banished my own father and erased my father’s own name so that no one may know it, not even my mother or myself know my father’s real name. So I will not speak of my grandfather’s name.” Rayth insisted. 

“What is your mother’s name then?” Floki asked. 

“Lilith.” Rayth smiled proudly. “Once you’ve eaten, you should rest some more Floki son of Odin and I will bring you back to your people, well, what’s left of them.” Rayth said. 

“My people?” Floki repeated. 

“Yes, the people you brought to the land of the gods. The volcano that erupted that caved you in- my sisters spitefully threw burning boulders at your opposers, only believers are left. And the soil is now very fertile and you’ll be able to grow whatever you want to now, they couldn’t bless the treacherous with the good.” Rayth informed him before she took the tray back, once she saw that he had eaten and drank his fill. 

“Also, feel free to eat whatever your eyes desire and if you need help, just call and I’ll come.” Rayth told him as his bed laid down again before the leaves opened up to reveal the cosmos above his bed as Floki gazed in awed wonder at it all as his hands reached out and grabbed a bunch of grapes that were growing near his head, marveling at how sweet they were- like candy and giggled to himself, tickled that he had so many of the gods favor- to the point that it was the goddesses who took care of him now. He only wished everyone else could see the truth. 

The next day, he felt better than he ever had, like his heart, mind and soul were whole and his sleep was the most restful he had ever had in his life, he almost didn’t want to leave as he eagerly got out of bed and investigated every centimeter of his “room” and got to try and taste fruits he had never seen before, let alone tasted. 

“Want some help?” Rayth asked as she came in with his breakfast, more bread with berries mixed in, fried scrambled eggs and fried potatoes with onions. 

“Yes please,” Floki said as she got a stone knife from her belt and opened up kiwi for him and handed him a spoon before she opened up some oranges and other citrus fruits and even some dragon fruit, sliced some star fruit, opened up mangos, papaya, pineapple and other exotic tropical fruits, even coconuts and had him drink the milk from those. 

“What are these hairy ones?” Floki asked. 

“Rambutan,” Rayth said as she peeled it and ate one for demonstration as he imitated her as she showed him so many fruits, he lost track of which ones were which and from where but he ate until his stomach was sure to burst and his face had streaks of sweet sticky juice to his his neck.  

“You need to bathe,” Rayth insisted as she took his hand and led him down the seeming maze of hallways and rooms made out of this tree before he came to a room where there was a tub in the wood itself that had an ever flowing spring in it, the water warm like from a sulfur spring but there was no sulfur. “Here, I have all the kinds of soap I make here to choose from, this one is best for your face, this one is  better for your body however for your private regions, this one is best and of course your hair and even your beard should be washed with this one.” She specified as she pointed them out before he put his hand up to his head and realized he had a full head of hair again. Which was odd. 

“You get in and I’ll return with a clean garment for you when you’re done.” She excused herself and left him to take care of himself before he got out of his tunic and got in the water with the soaps, watching as practically years of dirt and grime and oil came off of him in an instant as he washed everything with the soaps she told him to before she came back several moment later with a fresh clean garment, made out of a silk and cotton blend of cloth and some trousers.  

“Stay in the water as long as you like, I’m in the next room making soap.” Rayth said as she caught herself trying to sneak a peek at what the creator gave him and forced her eyes away as her cheeks stained cherry and even the tips of her pretty pointed ears got dark as Floki tilted his head as he realized...she was attracted to him. 

He got out of the natural tub and the water drained itself before it refilled itself anew as he put the clothes she provided on himself before he looked in the mirror, he looked...younger and healthier, he had never seen himself look so clean before as he wandered out of the room and listened for sounds of his host until he heard faint singing and followed that sound to find Rayth sitting down, pouring different colored liquid soaps into molds with different things like dried flowers as she mixed them in before she set the molds aside. The song she sang was peculiar, like he had heard it before but he couldn’t place where. The language the song was in- he didn’t recognize, but it sounded beautiful nonetheless, like his soul was being uplifted while his heart became happy and he had peace in his being. 

“You have a lovely voice Rayth.” Floki praised which caused her to jump a little in surprise before she put her hand over her heart and smiled in relief at him. 

“Thank you, I thought you’d be in the bath a little longer, you surprised me.” She explained. 

“What language was that? That you were singing in just now?” Floki asked as he leaned against the door “frame” that was huge branches growing vertically. 

“The original language my grandfather spoke to humans after he created them. It is the language he speaks to his own kind in the spirit world. All spirit beings know this language as our mother tongue, it’s humans who have deviated from the true tongue.” She answered. 

“So..it’s the language Odin speaks?” Floki realized. 

“Sure.” Rayth smiled politely. 

“So your grandfather is Odin, does that make Loki your father? Or Thor?” He asked. 

“Not exactly but my father is very much like Loki so for your sake and simplicity’s sake, sure, because otherwise, you couldn’t understand.” Rayth nodded in agreement. 

“When was the last time a son of Odin was in this tree?” He asked. 

“Never, you are the first.” Rayth said as she popped other soaps out of their molds and began to slice them with wire. 

When was the last time a son of Adam was in this tree?” Floki inquired as Rayth took a deep breath and a measured exhale. 

“A very long time.” Rayth answered as her face grew somber. 

“What was their name?” Floki asked. 

“His name was Abel and I don’t like to keep track of how long it’s been since he has died.” Rayth answered as tears began to well in her eyes as she tried to distract herself and will her tears away before they could fall. 

“You loved this Abel.” Floki realized. 

“I did, he was my first love, and my last.” Rayth answered with a sad smile. 

“Come, I think we were left some meat at one of the alters today. I know you must be hungry for it.” Rayth changed the subject and walked down a different hallway as she checked hollow stumps like they were cupboards, secretly wiping at her eyes as Floki could feel her sadness like it was his own. It had been eons of time since her heart was broken and her own heart had never truly healed. Time had only made her loss bearable. 

“Ah, a piglet, the poor thing.” Rayth took it and cradled it in her arms and wiped off the dirt before she presented it to him. 

“Should this be enough?” She asked. 

“More than enough.” Floki nodded before she led the way back to her kitchen. 

“You can cook it here,” Rayth said as she pointed to the fire as she worked on getting more bread dough made and a delicious rice and vegetable dish for them as Floki picked some herbs and onions and garlic for his dead piglet as he patiently roasted it with all of that inside of it. 

“So is it only you and your sisters in this tree?” He asked. 

“It’s been just me and my animals as of late, this tree was overflowing with my family before the great flood, but after...not so much. I was spared because I can disappear into the tree itself, some of my family wasn’t so lucky. Of course since then my parents made more siblings for me, but...they like to be elsewhere among the other sons of men. So, unless they come to visit, it’s usually just me.” Rayth answered. 

“So you’re lonely.” Floki realized. 

“Yes and no, I like living by myself and not having to answer to anyone. I like cultivating this tree and taking care of it and I like my animals and what they provide for me, I like the vast variety of foods I have at my fingertips at all times and I like not having to depend on anyone. And since the tree is connected to all the others, I can travel all over the world without ever leaving home. And when I do get lonely, I can always leave for short periods of time and blend in with anyone else and attend parties and festivals. People leave coins and other goods at the other alters so I have no shortage of coins or trinkets or jewelry or anything else I could ever want.” Rayth shrugged her shoulders. 

“So they leave gifts at your alters for blessings? Answered prayers?” Floki inquired curiously. 

“Usually. My other sisters usually take care of that. I only have access to alters that are in the hollow bases of great trees, my other brothers and sisters watch over the others and take care of their chosen people.” Rayth answered. 

“But you don’t have a chosen people?” Floki gathered. 

“No, I never preferred one race or tribe over another. I think they are all wonderful in their own ways. It was only because I can travel like I do that my sisters and your daughter and your wife asked me to save you. I am very partial to children myself, I love their innocence and imagination and sense of wonder. It seems that the more time goes on- children lose all of that sooner and sooner in their lives. But you are an exception- you never did lose yours. That’s why you were able to see my siblings. That’s why you’re able to see me.” Rayth smiled fondly at him as she turned from kneading her dough before she turned back to it and once she was done she washed her hands before Floki left the pig to roast as he came up behind her and gently hugged her from behind. 

“What are you doing?” Rayth asked. 

“Hugging you, it’s been a long time since you got a hug, everyone needs a hug every now and then.” Floki answered and Rayth was touched by how pure this gesture was and how gentle his soul had become in his relatively mature age before she turned and hugged him back. 

“Thank you Floki.” She whispered before the pig began to burn which broke them up before they returned to their tasks of making a meal together. 

“So you’re able to see them then? To talk to those who have passed on?” Floki asked as they ate their meal together. Rayth graciously taking a bite of the roasted pig but not wanting any more than that. 

“Yes, even though you are spiritual, you are still mortal. You can see spirit beings when they choose to be seen by you. But otherwise, this is as close to the spirit realm that you can ever be in your living state.” Rayth explained as she looked up to the light filtering through the leaves in the ceiling for emphasis. 

“Wait, the spirit world, is just right up there?” Floki realized. 

“Yes, but again, you can try to look but it will blind your eyes, you can try to touch but it will deaden any limbs you put through the leaves. You can try to hear- but you’ll go deaf. But there is a way to sense them, come.” Rayth invited as she took his hand again and brought him to a room that was clearly an alter of some kind where there was a stump, carved with living and moving designs that were almost hypnotic.  

“Come,” Rayth invited as she had him stand on the stump with her before she took his hands and hand him reach up simply place his hands on the leaves, pushing up into them ever so gently but not pushing through the canopy at all before Rayth seemed to call and whisper- her mouth moving but his ears could barely hear what she said but he felt what she was saying in his body- in his bones like the sounds she was making were moving through him before he felt a little hand press against his in the foliage- like feeling it through a cloth. 

‘Hi Daddy,’ came a message directly into his brain- in his daughter’s perfect little voice before his other hand felt another hand touch it, this one bigger, it was Helga. 

‘Floki’ came his wife’s voice, she was laughing yet crying and so happy to be so close to him again, yet so far. 

“There, the connection is stable, take as long as you need.” Rayth told him before she had vines grow down from the canopy to help support his body and his arms so his body didn’t strain to stay as connected as possible before she left to give him privacy. 

[sailorshadzter]

soon you’ll get better.

part 2 to my taylor swift lover album inspired jonsa series.  (<--- thats really a mouthful lol) 

im really excited to get further into the album, but recently, it was one of my best friend’s mom’s birthdays, though she passed away about nine years ago now. she was like a second mother to me & i miss her a lot. there were so many days i spent with her while she was sick & a lot of time i spent with her daughters. her younger two girls are like my little sisters. 

anyways, i originally wasnt even going to INCLUDE this song in the series, but thinking about this “second mom” of mine inspired me to write this instead. 

also, next time, i’m not certain ill follow this same set up. 

it might be a time skip, it might be an “inspired by” rather than using the lyrics themselves. who knows! we’ll see what happens. 

hope you guys enjoy. :) 

It's been several long, grueling weeks without seeing her.

Jon frequents Seasalt Tavern, even on trivia night, if only to catch a glimpse of that shiny red hair. But each night, he's let down. Even now, he hears her song in his brain. The echo of her words, soft and true, sing him to sleep when he closes his eyes each night. She haunts him, in a way no woman has ever done before.

Lunch break. It comes every day, a glorious hour where Jon steps away from his desk if only to stretch his legs. He joined the Westeros Special Forces unit only six months ago, a transfer in from the Northern faction, deciding to head South for a change of scenery post break up. Ygritte had been... Well, a spitfire, to say the least. And hard to forget. Their relationship had been as fiery as her temper and her hair. Yeah, he has a type, so sue him. While he didn't miss the fights and the theatrics of the relationship, he missed being with someone. Ygritte cared about him in her own, weird sort of way, and he misses the companionship she had provided him for nearly three years.

Jon sighs as he steps out into the afternoon sun, deciding the local coffee shop would suffice for lunch today. It's only a short walk up the street and Jon finds himself stepping inside within minutes, the blast of cold air refreshing. Six months in of living in the South and Jon still hasn't quite adjusted to the heat. He misses the icy cold air of the North- somehow, it felt cleaner up there. That ache in your lungs you felt when you took in the first breath of cold, morning air... He misses that almost as much as he misses the fiery warmth of a woman in his bed.

The girl behind the counter smiles and offers a wave- she's a University student, Jon has learned in his time coming here, eager to graduate the following spring and step into a new world as a nurse. "Hey Jon," she greets as he approaches, "the usual?" It's Jon's turn to grin as he nods and turns to head towards his usual table, but is surprised to find it already occupied.

And just like that, there she is.

She's surrounded by notebooks and a textbook or two, though she seems focused on a single notebook. Her red hair is twisted back into braids and tucked up with pins, though a few strands have fallen free to frame her face. Jon sucks in a breath as he watches her for only a moment more, for she looks up then and notices him staring. At once, she sits up straighter, squinting her eyes as recognition spreads across her face. "Hey," she says after a moment, folding her arms over the tabletop as she leans forward. "Jon, right?" She says, though she's not forgotten his name. She's recited it over and over and over again since the night they met. "Nice suit." Her eyes trail him up and down and Jon feels warmth spread to his cheeks, her lip gloss lips curving with a smile. If she notices the gun strapped to his hip, she doesn't mention it.

"Call it a drawback to the job," Jon jokes a moment later when he finally finds his voice again, the sweet sound of her laughter ringing in his ears. His heart soars. "I haven't seen you, at the bar I mean." He says and at once, he regrets it. She sits up straighter, those ocean blue eyes widening ever so slightly as she regards him closely. "I-I mean, they're talking about you. About your song, your voice." Smooth, he thinks as he can only hope a hole opens up on the floor and swallows him up. Just then, the barista appears with his steaming drink, to which he grins and gives his thanks before the girl is gone, leaving him there to probably continue to embarrass himself. But to his surprise, she does not send him away with a scowl or cruel words, rather her face softens and she gestures for him to sit.

"If you want," she says, an offering, her head tilted to the side, the stray strand of hair falling just across her forehead. He wishes he could push it  back, he wishes he could feel it between his fingers. It takes him only a moment to take the seat across from her, his to-go cup warm despite the cardboard slip around it's middle. "I've been busy," she says by way of explanation, a fleeting look of sadness crossing her features as she looks back at him. For some reason, despite not knowing him, Sansa feels as if she can trust him. His dark, solemn eyes give her a sense of hope she's not felt in a long time. "Besides, I couldn't come back without another song."

"So there's another one?" He asks, taking the first sip of his coffee. It's a simple order, a caramel macchiato with an extra shot of espresso, one which he never deviates from. "Open mic night is next week, isn't it?" She grins and nods, telling him she heard from her friend Margaery about the next date and that she would be there.

"Margaery has been trying to drag me out for weeks now, I haven't-" she stops, realizing she's about to dump something on him that's probably beyond a normal talking point for a first real conversation. As if Jon senses her uncertainty, he offers her a smile and encourages her to go on. "It's my mother..." Sansa shifts in her chair, absently swirling the last swallow of coffee in her mug as she looks anywhere but Jon's face. "She's sick and I... Between taking care of her and my little brothers and sister..." She looks up and it's written all over Jon's face- sympathy, yet understanding. There is no judgment, there is nothing but warmth. Somehow, it's as if she's known him all her life, not a single conversation in a dark bar. "Anyways, Margaery says it's good if I get out sometimes, you know? So I let her drag me out every now and again." She smiles as she thinks of her friend, who she knows loves her dearly. Margaery was a good, no a great, friend and Sansa reminds herself to give her friend a hug.

"I'm sorry... About your mother." Jon says after a moment, knowing the pain of losing a mother, though he doesn't mention such a thing to her. The last thing he wants to do is remind her of what she certainly worries about often. "You have siblings?" He asks instead and is delighted to see the smile brighten up her face as she nods.  

"Three of them. Two brothers, Bran is thirteen and Rickon is nine. Arya is fifteen." Her little siblings are her entire world. They have always been close, the Stark children that is, especially so in the four years since Robb had died. But even as kids, even with the years between them all, they had always been close. And with her mother's illness and her father's business, it left much of raising them to her. She could not remember a time where she was not with the little ones, though now that they're older and mostly taking care of themselves, she wishes she could go back. It hadn't always been easy, but she loved every moment spent with those little siblings of hers. "What about you?"

Jon smiles when he shakes his head. "I don't have much family at all, well aside for a distant cousin who lives in Essos." He had never known his father and his mother had died when he was just a kid, leaving him to be raised in foster homes until he came of age. "It's just me and Ghost, honestly."

"Ghost?" She asks and Jon can't stop from reaching for his cell phone, pulling up the most recent photo of the big, white dog he means. "A wolf dog?!" She blurts without warning, excitedly reaching for her own phone, which lay beside the notebook she'd been writing in. She taps the screen and shows him the background photo- a family photo of five kids with varying shades of hair, each proudly standing with shaggy pups that were as colorful as them. She draws the phone back towards her and when she hands it back, there's a photo instead of a beautiful gray wolf like dog, who's eyes are more gold than yellow. "That's Lady."

"You all have them?" Jon is surprised- he's never met another person with a wolf dog like Ghost, let alone a family of them.

"My father... He found an entire litter when we were kids," she explains, the memory burned into her brain as if it had happened only yesterday. "My family's sigil is a direwolf, so my father said he couldn't just turn them away. He said they came to us for a reason." For a litter of pups to be born, five pups for the five Stark children, it had surely been a sign from the Old Gods, and so despite her mother's wishes, all the puppies came home to the children. The way he's leaning over the table, he can see the soft curves of her handwriting on the paper- small and neat, her handwriting fits her perfectly. She must notice him looking for she grins and slides the paper towards him. "Next week's song," she says, tapping the top where she's written the apparent name across the top. "I think it's finished... I hope it's finished."

Jon reads only the first few lines before he pushes it back towards her. "I want to hear it when it is," he says and drains the last sip of his drink. "Listen, I have to head back to the office now but I uh... I'll see you next week." He rises up to his feet, the scrape of the chair against the floor the only noise in the room for a single moment. Sansa smiles and yet again, Jon is rendered breathless by her. If only this moment could last forever.

"Yeah, next week," she replies, barely breathing herself.

When Jon approaches the desk to pay for his drink, he tells the barista he wants to pay for her drink too. Though she's surprised, the young woman does as he's bid and waves to him as he takes the receipt and his change and heads for the door. Just as he goes to toss it into the waste bin, he peaks at the receipt and to his surprise, sees that she must have ordered the very same drink as him.

[ x x x ]

The bar is quiet as Sansa climbs up to the stage again.

Again, accompanied only by her guitar, she gazes out into the crowd of people, smiling down at her brunette friend before she speaks into the microphone. "I had an entirely different song planned for this night a few weeks ago, but my mother... She's sick and she's relapsed so  I wrote this for her." In the long nights beside the hospital bed, the beeping of the machines her only melody, she had penned these lyrics. She had scribbled these lines onto napkins and the back of her hand. She had written this song to remind herself that in the end, her mother would step out of the hospital and home would become home again. Taking a deep breath, she strums the guitar and finds the right note.

And then she sings.

"The buttons of my coat were tangled in my hair In doctor's-office-lighting, I didn't tell you I was scared That was the first time we were there."

Jon sits at the bar again.

It's his usual spot, with his usual drink in hand. He had saw her come in- red hair in curls and her impossibly long legs wrapped in denim- but hadn't got a chance to talk to her. Her friend, Margaery he thinks it is, sits where she sat the first time, but this time the guy she had been crushing on sits beside her, arm around her waist.

The song Sansa sings... He recalls reading those first few lines in the coffee shop but hearing her silky voice singing them makes all the difference. She's stronger this time- less nervous than she must have been the first time around and Jon is surprised when from across the room, their eyes meet.

And he swears his heart must stop.

"Ooh-ah, soon you'll get better Ooh-ah, soon you'll get better Ooh-ah, you'll get better soon 'Cause you have to."

Those words are the soft plea of a daughter to her sick mother, the simple view that there was no other option than to recover. Jon glances around the room and can see there are at least five others in that room who know the feelings she's singing about.

Yet again, Sansa's song is reaching people.

"I know delusion when I see it in the mirror You like the nicer nurses, you make the best of a bad deal I just pretend it isn't real I'll paint the kitchen neon, I'll brighten up the sky I know I'll never get it, there's not a day that I won't try."

One of the women Jon had noticed earlier is openly crying at her table now and he recognizes her as the one who had lost her mother only a month before. Jon recalls that pain himself, despite the years that it's been since he lost his own mother. He can still recall the sweet scent of her perfume, but he's forgotten what her voice sounded like or how warm her arms had been whenever she hugged him. It's been many years since he lost his mother, but the pain of it never goes away. Not entirely.

On the stage, Sansa too sees the woman that cries softly at her table, the man beside her wrapping his arm around her in comfort. She wishes she hadn't made her cry, she feels bad about that, in truth, but there's no stopping now.

"And I hate to make this all about me But who am I supposed to talk to? What am I supposed to do If there's no you? This won't go back to normal, if it ever was It's been years of hoping, and I keep saying it because 'Cause I have to."

As she breaks into the final chords, the final repeat of soon you'll get better, she looks out into the faces around her, wondering just how many of them out there got the message. How many others besides that single woman understood the pain of watching someone they loved go through an illness? Probably too many, she realizes.

When her hand finally falls from the guitar and silence descends, she lets out the breath she's been holding and her heart skips a beat when the first claps begin. And then it's every person in the bar that's clapping, some even cheering as she smiles for them and descends down to join Margaery at the table.

Jon watches as she escapes from her friend and instead crosses the room to approach the other crying woman. They embrace and when Sansa pulls back, the woman holds her at arm's length as they talk. When they finish their conversation, Sansa does not return to Margaery's table but to his shock, she comes towards the bar to stand before him where he sits on his usual stool. "Buy me a drink?" She asks with a grin and for a moment, Jon is too stunned to say anything.  But then he nods and she slides onto the stool beside him, so close that again he catches the scent of her sweet perfume.

They talk for what could be several hours, Jon seems to have lost track of the time as he sits there with her. It isn't until Margaery approaches her, a touch to her shoulder, a quick but silent it's time to go home. "I have to go," she says, brushing a curl behind an ear, revealing the three little studs she wears in her lobes. "Maybe we don't have to wait until the next mic night to see each other," she grins as she slides a piece of paper towards him as she hops of the stool, a little wobbly after her three drinks. Before Jon can speak, she's rushing after Margaery who waits at the door for her, her guy already out in the lot to fetch the car.

Jon lifts up the piece of paper and he finds his heart is racing as he realizes it's her phone number written there. Pre written, he realizes, meaning she had always intended on giving it to him. He feels warm and it's not just because of the four drinks he's consumed sitting there with Sansa. Okay... That might be partly to blame, but mostly he's just beyond happy. He reaches for his phone and adds her into his contacts list, clicking the new message icon, though he hesitates for a moment. Was it weird if he texted her so quickly? No, he decides, she gave him her number, which meant she wanted him to text her.

And so he taps the message space and begins to type.

Sansa is climbing into the backseat of the car when her phone beeps.

She fishes it out of her purse and her heart skips a beat when she sees it is a number not yet saved to her contacts. "He texted you? Already?" Margaery is excited in the front seat, the one who had encouraged Sansa to talk to him that night, the one to write down her phone number for Sansa to give to him. "I told you," she mumbled as she turned back around, smiling to herself as she thinks of the way the dark haired, brooding sort of man had been staring at her friend both last time and tonight. After the last relationship Sansa had been in, she deserved someone who looked at her like this Jon looked at her.

On Sunday's I take Ghost to the dog park. Maybe Lady would like to join him?

Sansa smiles and types a quick reply.

Just as he's sliding off the stool that his phone lights up on the bar. Jon can't help but to chuckle when he sees her response.

Lady would love that, but I hope I'm invited. 👀

When she reads his response, she's grinning, a strange warmth filling her up, threatening to spill over.  Sorry, I forget how to act when I think about cute dogs owned by cute girls. Another text comes before she can reply to the first.  I'll see you and Lady both there, say noon?

She nods, though he can't see, and hits send on her own message.

Jon climbs into his car and hears the beep of her reply.  We'll see you there. :)

He drives himself home and it isn't until he's settled into his apartment that he realizes his phone went off without him noticing. Unlocking the screen, he's surprised to see it's a picture message, rather than just a normal text. This is how she looks at me when I tell her we have plans tomorrow. The picture is of Lady asleep on the couch, or at least pretending to be, as she has one yellow eye open looking up at Sansa who must be leaning over her to snap the picture. We're going to bed, see you tomorrow. I promise she's as excited as I am. Her next text comes a moment later and Jon grins down at Ghost, reciting the message aloud to the dog. "She's excited..." He murmurs as he sinks back into the couch, not fully prepared to head to bed.

In her bedroom, stripped down to nothing but a t-shirt, Sansa is climbing into bed when her phone vibrates on her bedside table. Reaching for it, she blinks against the brightness of her screen so she can read Jon's last message. Ghost on the other hand... A pause and then the photo comes, making her smile as she clicks it to enlarge it. It's of the great big white wolf, grinning like only a dog can, clearly excited by something Jon is doing or saying. Sleep tight, girls, comes last and as Sansa curls up beneath her blankets, she smiles to herself, not yet daring to believe that this is entirely real. Jon seems almost too good to be true. Though, she supposes there's only one way to figure it out. She hasn't dated in well over a year... Not since Joffrey... But something tells her Jon is the farthest type from Joffrey that could ever possibly be.

As she closes her eyes, she thinks of him, of those deep set brown eyes, and falls asleep.

[kiruuuuu]

Doc/Lion oneshot in which a secret comes out which Lion would much rather have kept from the rest of Rainbow. (Rating T, angst + happy ending, ~2.4k words) - written for @big-r6s-fan!! Thank you very much again for commissioning me 💗 I enjoyed myself writing this :)

.

Lion was 15 when lying became a necessity.

Before, it had been a fancy, a brief display of power: he could deceive people if he wanted, but it was no more than a trump card he was never forced to play. When he went out with his friends, his parents hardly showed enough interest or worry, making a lie redundant, and his peers didn’t really care either about his religious upbringing or other interests. He felt being the younger sibling keenly, and Sophie oftentimes reminded him of all the things she wasn’t allowed to do at his age, unaware of how much he actually took advantage of this freedom.

Many things happened at 15 which interfered with this dynamic, deeply disturbed his relationship not only with his family but also his friends. He stole his dad’s car for a joyride and ended up getting caught. The parent of an ex-friend he long ditched for being a teacher’s pet saw him drinking together with older kids. He snuck into the school’s chapel and pissed in the holy water. He started smoking, lost his virginity, and shoplifted. His parents didn’t find out about all of it, but they did find out about enough, gathered clues from half-hearted responses and all the details he omitted, saw it in his face. He had to get better at lying, if only to trick their system of regular texts and calls, checking homework, rigid curfew.

Not only that, he learnt to keep secrets to prevent ridicule. Just like most of his friends, he claimed to be an atheist since they were the loudest group and often harassed others for believing – in truth, he doubted yet hadn’t faltered. Church involvement repelled him as did the strict moral code, but he never fully gave up the idea of a higher power. He kept quiet about liking some of the catchy songs on the radio, about his crush on the prettiest girl in his class, about enjoying some of his classes, about his reading habits. He didn’t want to be uncool, so he went along with his peers, easily agreeing and keeping most of the things he truly held dear close to his heart instead of on his sleeve.

It resulted in fewer problems. His parents thought him converted, his friends thought him amiable and he started to enjoy telling lies.

One of his friends was already 18, owned a car and lived alone – in Lion’s eyes, he was the pinnacle of maturity, something to strive towards. It didn’t matter his vehicle was on the verge of falling apart and that his flat stunk of stale weed and had no wallpaper and that he worked in a supermarket; he could stay up whenever he wanted, had his own money, and could go wherever he pleased. Not only that, he also never took no for an answer. No matter how hare-brained the plan, he was on board, no matter how unachievable the dream, he gave support and encouragement. The little word which Lion had heard one too many times from his parents lately was missing from his vocabulary.

At some point, his friend told him to take his clothes off. He wouldn’t take no for an answer. This, too, Lion never disclosed to anyone.

Just like the fact that he liked it.

.

Years took their toll on him. One of the very few things he kept from his adolescence is his taste in music which he doesn’t readily share with others from his church. He doesn’t speak about his faith with his colleagues. The extent of his escapades has never reached his parents’ ears. Not once has he told any of his girlfriends about the men with whom he fooled around. At times, it eats at him, every little secret, every little lie another bite out of his conscience, and though he’s trying his best to follow the commandments, it’s a habit he simply can’t kick. It spares him so many intrusive, difficult questions that it’s just not worth giving up.

There’s one man in particular who seems keen on testing his limits, however. There’s no reaction from him when Lion attempts to change the topic, every excuse merely makes him dig deeper, every wall that’s thrown up causes him to redouble his efforts of scaling it – once he’s identified an issue, he refuses to let go until he’s received a satisfactory response and his bluntness frankly intimidates Lion. He has trouble dealing with it, walked off a couple of times instead of opening up but with time realised that judgement never followed. That his concessions were never met with disdain. That his bareness was reciprocated in kind.

It’s hard to accept that the one person who carefully dismantles the web of lies, half-truths and excuses he weaves as protection used to be his enemy.

But by now, he’s starving for affirmation and takes what he can gets without seeming desperate, and when Doc refuses to back down even when confronted with some of Lion’s unsavoury past, he eventually gives in. Hands himself over. Allows Doc to rummage through the myriad of memories he usually keeps under wraps, and watches helplessly as the other man treats it more like a historical museum than contemporary art – he reassures Lion that while all of it contributed to his personality, he’s greater than the sum of its parts. He sees something in Lion no one else does, and so he fiercely, jealously guards the emotions shared between them from the rest of the world. This is his. He will not risk ridicule. He will not let it wither in sunlight where it flourishes in darkness.

Which is why he’s overcome with dizzying nausea when Dokkaebi walks in on them.

They were cautious, both of them averse to endangering this fragile understanding between them, and though they began living in each other’s skin outside of work, they avoided each other in Hereford. Not obvious enough to draw suspicion but rigorous enough to resist temptation. This day, it just so happened that Lion had lab results to drop off at the end of his shift, and Doc was still around, and so they exchanged a few words. Maybe stood a little too close. Doc said something soothing, Lion reacted with a rare smile, and warm fingers found his own, lips neared his.

A quick peck. No more. But Dokkaebi bursts in just then and clearly realises what’s going on and though Lion scrambles to revert back to the persona which can lie like it breathes, he’s gotten used to not needing it in Doc’s presence and is therefore too slow.

Awkwardness settles in his bones, guides Dokkaebi’s stilted words and stiff movements, laces Doc’s curt response, causes Lion’s face to burn and him to take an unnecessary step backwards. It squeezes his heart until it desperately pumps against the iron grip, blackening the outside of his vision, and with a formal excuse, he leaves. He nearly misses the doorknob on the way out due to shaking fingers.

She knows.

And if she knows, so will everyone else the next day. His and Doc’s feud spread like wildfire the moment he joined Rainbow and there’s no doubt this tasty bite of news will do the same. They will all know.

His phone starts buzzing before he’s even home. Composure is a virtue and he thanks the Lord for gracing him with it or else he might’ve swerved his car into a ditch. Teeth chattering, he stops by the side of the road and turns the device off – he doesn’t need this unconditional compassion right now, even if he’s unsure what else he needs. All he knows is that he’d break down if the calm voice on the other end asked him whether he’s alright.

Intrusive thoughts haunt him almost like a badly edited narration over a bleak independent film. You don’t deserve him, and he’s fairly sure he’s hungry, so he puts a slice of bread into the toaster. Doesn’t it contradict your faith? He hasn’t even taken off his shoes, so he unlaces them by the couch, leaves them lying in the way. Believe me, you two aren’t gonna last. Coffee sounds good right about now, even if all he has is instant. Fucking coward, hasn’t even come out and probably blackmails Doc. Kettle, water, cup, spoon, powder. The metal in his hands feels too smooth. Wasn’t his kitchen a little bigger? He could’ve sworn it wasn’t dark out when he arrived. He’s still an arrogant twat. Great, his toast is cold now.

The voices of the people he’s forced to interact with every day are merciless.

It’s like he’s run a marathon and, despite being wholly drained, the residual adrenaline fires up his mind in uncomfortable bursts. Sitting down for longer than ten minutes is impossible and he finds himself going through his qualifications at one point. He’s good at his job. He’s sure he can find another one elsewhere.

Now and then, faces flash before him. The priest he told to go fuck himself when he tried to talk to young Lion about responsibilities. His parents after being informed about his fatherhood. Claire when she realised he was serious about the abortion. His own son upon seeing him the first time. And, lastly, Doc. The day his colleagues’ blood added to the crusty mess already on Lion’s hands.

He won’t be able to bear more. He’ll break if the rest of Rainbow adds to this embarrassingly long list of shocked, appalled, disgusted expressions, especially since it’d be over something so dear to him. So crucial to his survival. He can’t stand them shunning him for having found his heart’s desire.

Already resigned to a night of no sleep, he jolts upright at the sound of his doorbell. Sits there, motionless, paralysed in indecision. He should let him in. He doesn’t want to.

It still rings now and then five minutes later, every noise running marrow-deep. He trusts Doc fully, but he doesn’t trust himself.

For once, his mind comes up with a reasonable objection: isn’t he a little old to be self-sabotaging like this?

Doc doesn’t mention the wait once he’s crossed the threshold. He won’t get it, not with how supportive his family has been, not with how popular he is, not with how little he encountered rejection in his life. And yet simply seeing him helps.

“I don’t want to lose you”, Lion breathes into his hair and the reassurances convince him that his lover genuinely doesn’t understand – he whispers the words which usually soothe Lion, promises him to stay by his side and remains unaware of the real problem. It matters not that he’s loyal when no one will talk to them. It’s irrelevant how supportive he is when open hostility will make coordinated teamwork unachievable. The tension will carry over until it either permeates their entire relationship, leaves them irritated and frustrated with each other, or until Lion is reassigned. Or potentially leaves of his own accord.

Both would be the end of them.

In exposing their feelings, they have killed them. And though Doc’s fingers will eventually grow tired of brushing away wet streaks, there will always be more tears.

.

Needle pricks in his back. He feels them wherever he goes, head held high and seemingly impervious – but the gazes riddle him, erode his self-control and he’s sure that eventually, there’ll be more holes than substance. Wandering through the base is nightmarish, an omnipresent sense of dread unshakeable. None of the people around him dare to speak anywhere but in their minds, and so he’s powerless to defend himself. They all know.

Every smile is malicious, every bout of laughter directed at him. Today, the universe has assembled to judge over the mockery that is his life and finds it lacking.

Doc’s words are etched into the back of his brain, not as encouragement but as a reminder of how naive his lover is. Doc desperately holds onto this fundamental trust towards humanity, ignorant of his privilege, ignorant of how revered he is, how the seas part for him, how no one dares to speak ill of him. He blindly assumes his experiences are universal. It’s easy for him to confuse his own brightness reflected back at him with another source of light.

Lion isn’t so lucky.

Whenever anyone approaches him, he expects the worst, flinches pre-emptively and stumbles his way through conversations which should’ve gone a lot smoother. They shoot him more and more odd looks the further the day progresses, and it’s not just the albatross around his neck they see. A glance in the mirror confirms he looks like death.

Montagne is a good friend and Lion values his opinion, yet conversing with him is like nails dragging over a chalkboard. He inquires about Lion’s well-being and lies like this one hardly count anymore. The brief talk has him sit down or else he might’ve started swaying, and the deafening roar of his thoughts almost makes him miss Montagne’s parting statement: “I’m happy for you and Gustave. I wish you two all the best.”

He -

He can’t mean it, can he?

A day later, in passing, Buck says with a smile: “You’ve snagged a good one. Don’t let him get away, eh?”

And Ash, at the end of the week: “I’m very glad it’s working out with you and Doc.”

Lion has never received this many friendly words. Most of the team captains send him on errands which carry him past Doc’s office. Hibana assigns him and Doc together for an exercise without a second thought. Twitch begins buying one coffee more each morning.

The burden lifts. The queasy feeling dissipates. His future brightens. It’s an incredible experience, and the more he adapts, the warmer the others receive him. It’s a mutual thing, glowing and strengthening his confidence, and eventually he even admits Doc was right from the beginning.

“They don’t treat me any worse”, he adds when sharing his observations with a wholly relieved Doc, loose and content and not at all shy with his displays of affection.

“Of course not”, comes the gentle reply. “Everyone deserves happiness, Olivier. It’s time you start believing it.”

Lion has to concede that here, by Doc’s side, looking forward to a good night’s sleep and a challenging job with supportive co-workers, it’s a lot easier to trust in these words.